Our batik your little one,
savings

JANE SANDERS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

M

y younger broth-
er, Dean, mar-
ried Judy, the
love of his life,
in 1985. They waited to start a
family until Dean got settled in
his career and had finished a
master's degree and they'd
bought a house. By 1989, it
was time. They were so excit-
ed about the prospect of having
kids. And they had so much
trouble.
One pregnancy ended in
miscarriage within a month.
Dean and Judy were devastat-
ed. Another pregnancy lasted
only three months. Heartbreak
once more. An ultrasound dur-
ing yet another pregnancy dis-
covered twins! Two tiny boys,
Paul and Charles, named after
their granddaddies, were born
early, at five and a half months.
They lived only 30 minutes.
But Dean and Judy were
persistent, and they were de-
termined to have children. The
minute the doctors said,
"Okay, you can try again," they
were pregnant. (Fortunately,
fertility was never an issue.)
And this time everything
worked. On Groundhog Day
in 1992, my niece, Amy
Marie, was born.
Later that year I went home
for a family reunion, one of my
all-time favorite events. I have
six brothers and sisters, most of
whom have families, so Dean
and Judy's house was packed.
We were all standing in the
kitchen and dining room chat-
ting when Dean took Amy up-
stairs to bed.

I was standing next to the
counter where the intercom to
the baby's room was located.
Within a few minutes, over the
din of the kitchen conversa-
tion, through the intercom, I
heard the creak, creak, creak of
the rocking chair as Dean
rocked his infant daughter to
sleep. And then, very softly, I
heard something else. To the
tune of the song, "Clemen-
tine," I heard my brother's
voice crooning:
Oh my daughtet; oh my
daughter oh my daughter
Amy Marie.
You're the answer to my
prayers, oh my daughter, Amy
Marie.
Oh my daughter; oh my
daughter, oh my daughter,
Amy Marie.
I'myour daddy and I love
you, oh my daughter, Amy
Marie.
My eyes filled with tears as I
felt Dean's love for his long-
awaited miracle baby. More
importantly, I knew Arby could
feel that love, too. And I knew
the gift my brother was giving
his infant daughter in that mo-
ment was as great as the gift
she had given him with her
birth. ❑
Copyright 1996 by Chick
Moorman and Personal
Power Press. Reprinted with
permission from Where the
Heart Is: Stories of Home &
Family, Paperback, $14.95,
Personal Power Press. Avail-
able in bookstores or directly
from the publistfer, (800) 797-
4133.

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