dear nahum: amerika

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

amerika

Dear Nahum,

Soon I will leave on a trip to Amerika. You've never been to Amerika yet, but you're kind of from there, because that's where I'm from. While I'm there, I plan to see your grandpa and grandma for a few days. Then I plan to attend a conference about my work for a few days. I wish you and Mom could come along, but maybe I can send you pictures of the things I see and do while I'm sixteen airplane hours away.

I'm writing you this note to remind you that you're the man of the house while I'm gone. I need you to watch out for Mom and make sure she's OK. This is the longest Mom and I been apart since we got married. Please behave while I'm gone!

I already look forward to seeing you both when I get back. Save some kicks for me! I wonder if I'll be able to see that you've grown in just a week and a half?

Missing you already,

Dad

PS - I'll be flying on a Boeing 767-400 and 737-900. Mom doesn't care about these details but I'm sure you do, Nahum.

about these letters

We're a North American couple living in Germany, and expecting our first baby at the end of June 2017.

At our baby's 12-week ultrasound, we were told in no uncertain terms that we would have precious little time with our baby. Due to a serious and well-known malformation of our baby's skull in the first weeks of the pregnancy, doctors say he will die while in the womb or right after birth.

These letters to our baby are a way to process the mixed joy and sorrow of these days, and to remember how even in the valley of the shadow of death, God is with us and comforts us. We're calling our baby Nahum, which means "comfort".