Dear Baby-to-Be

Dear Baby-to-Be,

It's past noon and your daddy and I are still
in bed. When I woke up and asked myself,
"What would make me happy right now?"
I got inspired to set up our baby registry for you.
You'll emerge in just three months and
we are all blissed out
imagining life with you.

As soon as your daddy woke up he made me
hot tea of raspberry leaf and nettle
both super-power-pregnancy plants.
His bike outside beckoning in full view
from our bedside French doors, he is perfectly content
instead right by my side

imagining life with you.  

Pure wool baby blankets
organic cotton rompers with tug boat
flower and mushroom prints
luxurious chamomile and almond oil baby cream
glass baby bottles for when Mama's not around to feed you
and because we'll keep on doing our best to
love ourselves really well
while you're in my womb and when you come out
prenatal and postnatal massages for both of us.
You move a lot when Mama gets massaged.
It's like you're saying,
"Good job Mama! You loving you is good for me too."

We'll be riding bikes together through the
sycamores and oaks of Bidwell Park
beside the rushing creek, beneath the wings of songbirds.
Your daddy found the baby bike seat he likes and now
he's cooking us breakfast.
Baby, it just cracks me up. It's like a movie sometimes.
Every day with him, I still think I'm dreaming.

We are already so in love with you.

Love,
Mama

Corporate Surprise

Dear Sports Car Driver Guy,

It was one of those moments when I set aside my
"I only drink coffee from independent coffeehouses"
cappuccino connoisseur hat and
pulled into the drive-thru at Starbucks

Dogs in the back of the station wagon
ready for our morning hike
I pulled in for a little
they call it tall
foamy vanilla latte
then almost pulled right out
poorly planned parking lot
cars all mashed in a line
some stuck in their spots until
some other drive-thru caffeine fiend
budged

You were parked
trying to reverse and, I thought, leave.
So I reversed, freeing up some car claustrophobia
making space for you but instead
you pulled into the line
right in front of me.

I didn't care, I totally didn't care, and for a second
I wondered why until I remembered
I was headed for a hike with my
two marvelous dogs
I have a baby growing inside my
healthy womb
I have a world class partner and our town has
a phenomenal farmer's market and
my family and friends really, really love me and
even when I'm broke I feel rich in the most important ways
what on Earth was there to be bothered about?

You revved up your sporty engine every time you
advanced in the line.
I snickered and pulled out my ATM card knowing
even when I'm low on dough, it is always
worth spending my last few bucks on coffee.

The perky girl at the window handed me my coffee
with a lid, which I removed as I always do
I can't stand plastic between me and my coffee
and she said
"The guy in front of you
bought your drink today."

A Safe and Friendly Universe

Dear Bike Nerd,

I was having lunch with a friend and his baby boy
crunchy Romaine and thin sliced red onions
in the shade until the sun moved
heavy on my shoulders
pushing us back
out into the day again

My creamy key lime commuter bike Felicia
rested steady on the sidewalk
locked up, graceful
awaiting another spin in the June breeze

You left a note on my handlebar
must have stood admiring
her rear internal hub
or her fine whispering hue
her way of moving you even
as she stands
motionless

Yes I ought to replace those pedals soon.
But if I had done so already,
I might've missed your
cafe sleeve reminder that we live
in a safe and
friendly universe

Thank you,
Jessica

Dear Med, the Mother of my Love, on Your Birthday

Tomorrow is your birthday and you 
across the globe in Sweden
are on our minds.
I haven't met you yet but you are celebrated
every day in our home
I can see your face in your son's face
gentle, noble 
lines of a life rich with feeling and smiles.


On our wall in black and white photos
you hold him on a sailboat
a comforting mother and
her infant whose yawn looks the same 39 years later.


As we celebrate your birthday
5,200 miles away
I want to share with you what
I imagine would be 
some of the best words a mother
could hear, things you already know
but still land with softness and light your day.


Your son is as kind and thoughtful, as loving and honest,
as playful and open-minded, as accepting and sweet
as free-spirited, patient, and confident
as I imagine a man could be. 
He rides his bike every day, he makes music and 
teaches himself new things, he cooks beautiful food
for us, often in celebration of his native land
juniper berries ... elk meatballs.
He loves his dog and mine, our home, 
and has influenced me to switch 
from daily coffee to daily tea.
I've met no one who knows him well and doesn't find him
to be one of the most wonderful people alive. 

Hjalmar Carl Henrik Hake, May 2012

For all the love you've shown him 
all his life, 
for the respect he has for women 
which surely
has a lot to do with you
for the safety you instilled in him 
as a baby
and beyond
I am in gratitude and celebration 
for you.


Happy Birthday Med!


Love,
Jessica

Dear Sun Shining Through the Windows at Tin Roof Bakery

Dear Sun Shining Through the Windows at Tin Roof Bakery, Where Lots of People Turn Away From You Even When it's 36 Degrees Outside and Move to Another Table Because You are So Bright, but I Sit Straight-Smack in the Aim of your Piercing Fire Hoping They Never, Ever Put Up Blinds to Block Your Intensely Gorgeous Heat and Light,


I love you. 


Jessica