IN THE BEGINNING...

It's not an original thought, but I just want to start this way: "In the beginning," there was Bill. William Frederick Weigel, to be formal. Age 40 years and nine months, he has just become a father for the second time. A second birth. A second daughter. Had he hoped for a boy? I, of course, as that second daughter only hours old, had no idea. No one ever mentioned to me that he had. He was a mild-mannered man who seemed to be at peace with himself, quietly thankful for the life he was living, never questioning that which he could not control. I assume he simply accepted this birth as a natural event in his ongoing journey here on earth.

At that same beginning, we also find Kate.  Catherine Constance Crowley Weigel, age 38. Obviously, as the mother she played a pivotal role in this whole affair.  October 13 became a date to be circled on her calendar.  Each year she would bake a birthday cake, arrange a small party, and purchase just the right gift.  How did she feel about this dark-haired, lanky second daughter?  It's a hypothetical question.  Unfortunately, we'll never know.  We hope it was happiness.  We hope she was grateful. She had tried to become pregnant for a long time.  In later years I worried that she had given up the struggle and was enjoying the freedom of having a six-year old in school all day.  And then...was blindsided when the rabbit died. What if?  But that's my story.  It isn't hers.  Because I, of course, don't really know her story.

We can't forget Mary Helen, the youngest Weigel--barely six years old.  Red-haired and freckle-faced, probably more like her father than her mother.  Patient, and a little on the quiet side. Suddenly, the older daughter. The example to be followed.  How did she feel when baby came home...to stay? I'm guessing that she might have been excited for a few minutes but, face it, babies wear off quickly...and it was a small house. What with the crying, the pooping, the spitting up and the general helplessness, they're a lot of work and adjustment for the whole family. There is a story that she cried when she saw me...but I didn't hear it from her and don't have the details to back that up.  Someone did tell me later she cried because she thought she would be able to play with me, but I was much too floppy for any quality or extended games. I'll stick with that story since it's much more positive than any reason I might think of for tears at a first meeting.

And me?  Well, considering everyone else, I was definitely the lucky one.  I didn't have to make any changes to my schedule or adjust my life, or do much of anything, except lie around and be waited on.  It was a good life. After watching me for a day or two, they chose the name Margaret Elizabeth which is a lot of letters and complicated spelling for one so young, but school was a few years away and I had time to prepare.  Whereas, their lives had turned upside down with a new baby in the family, I was able to grow into it day by day.  It was all I knew.  So, for me the whole thing was a painless and positive transition.

January 31, 2016