To me, fair friend, you never can be old,
For as you were when first your eye I ey'd,
Such seems your beauty still.
For as you were when first your eye I ey'd,
Such seems your beauty still.
~William Shakespeare, Sonnet 104
Eyes are a beautiful and mysterious thing. If you can't see someone's eyes, it's often hard to sense their emotion, to understand their thinking, or even to recognize who they are.
Some people have captivating eyes. Jovie is one of these people. Maybe it is partly due to her chubby cheeks and bald head that emphasize those baby blues and long lashes. But even so, her eyes are simply striking. I have yet to take a shopping trip to Harris Teeter where someone does not stop to make a comment about her eyes. And if you know anything about me, it's that I make a lot of trips to Harris Teeter.
Ironically, a year ago today when our 2 pound 4 ounce daughter entered this world, her eyes, having never opened in the womb, were still fused shut.
Babies' eyes usually open in utero towards the end of the second trimester. Most 27 weekers are born with open eyes. But it took our 27 weeker another two weeks until her eyelids finally broke free.
The evening when I first noticed a slight opening in her right eye will forever be ingrained in my mind. The nurse gently pulled her lids apart, and there was an eye. A few days later, her left lids were gently pulled apart, and there she was, both eyes looking back at me for the first time.
It was a moment mixed with a strange concoction of beauty and sadness. A moment that was amazing and miraculous to watch, like witnessing a chick hatching from its egg. And yet it was a moment that no parent ever dreams or hopes to witness. A moment that was accented by beeping machines, tubes, wires, the hum of a miniature CPAP, and joy.
Our family has much to be thankful for. We live in a time and place where babies who are 13 weeks shy of their due date with fledgling lungs, a frail body, and fused eyes, can, one year later, grow into this . . .
Today our family celebrates God's grace towards us, His healing power, and His love. We celebrate this little girl who a year ago welcomed us with a hushed whimper and has ended her first year with a screechy squeal. A year ago her eyes were still closed to her surroundings, and now they are wide open, captivating the world, one Harris Teeter shopper at a time.
Happy 1st birthday, our sweet baby Jovie!
