From Virginia to Amelie

It occured to me this morning that I've never mentioned Virginia in our blog. Coincidently, she is the little imaginary baby that was growing in my tummy over a year ago. I'd say since the Spring-Summer period of 2008. I was joking about my belly and how "baby Virginia" was growing inside my tummy. We had no intention of adopting another child, much less having a homegrown one in my belly. For some reason I kept feeling like there was a pregnancy of sorts going on. Daniel and I just laughed it off.

I remember analyzing the whole thing, thinking it must be symbolic of something I was 'birthing' in my personal life- creativity, new ideas, personal growth, etc. Not a literal child. Nonetheless, I had a lot of fun those months teasing my children by pushing my belly out (especially after large meals) saying "Oh my, sweet little Virginia is growing. Oh wait, I just felt her kicking. Come here Sky, feel it!" Sky and Prasad would laugh, go along, but it was all in fun and humor. We started talking about this baby girl entity as if she was a part of the family, and Sky would walk by asking "Hey Mommy, how is Virginia doing today?!" Don't ask me where the silly name came from....it sounded funny to us, calling a new baby what we thought sounded like an old lady's name. Talk of her increased and I remember it bordered on strange.

It didn't take long for this "Virginia" idea to catch on, creating an opening for the possibility of another child. Or was it the other way around? Did I start out doing it because intuitively I felt a child calling to me? It's eerie to realize that at the very same time a virtual baby girl was inside my tummy, Amelie was inside her birth mother's tummy. She was really growing and kicking at that time, about to begin her journey to us. And right at the very time she was born, Daniel and I solidified our decision to really bring a baby girl into our family. My virtual pregnancy with Virginia ended, and she became a real child, somewhere, and we had to find her. We will always laugh while telling Amelie this story and how she basically started out being called "Virginia." We've no doubt she will be grateful that we changed her name!