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| Julia Kristine Sawchuk Brodeur - 2 1/2 yrs old |
I never wanted to know the sex of any of the babies I carried yet I was certain Julia was a girl long before her birth. Everything about my last pregnancy was different - my cravings, my weight gain - I was about to have some competition in my house full of men! I knew I was in for a interesting journey with this kid from the very ride to the hospital; she was intent on bursting into the world while her father seemed determined to observe every red light and speed limit as though they had been handed to him on two stone tablets up on Mount Sinai! At the hospital, Dr B barely had time to snap on his second glove and lean forward before Julia plopped herself into his hands. I didn't realize it then, but her unconventional arrival was to be a trailer for the movie of her life ...
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| Julia and Dad (March 2 1997) |
After poor Jordan's history-making bout with colic, Julia was an almost maintenance-free newborn. She quickly learned to sleep through the pandemonium that underlined Kevin and Jordan's every waking moment. I'm almost ashamed to admit that her father and I went off to bed one night, only to realize that we had left her sleeping in the swing in the middle of the pitch black living room, but she was just that easy a baby ... well, until she started walking, that is! It wasn't enough for Julia to learn to pull herself up by holding on a piece of furniture; no, Julia then had to climb that piece of furniture. Coffee tables, wall units, bookcases - if it had a foothold, Julia was determined to scale the thing. More times than I can remember, I would turn my back on her sitting in her high chair, only to look over my shoulder and see her straddling the tray, impish grin on her face and hands on her teeny hips, looking so proud of herself. A mere week or so after learning to walk, she decided she was tired of that activity and started imitating her brothers as they ran throughout the house. Julia hated being strapped into a stroller, preferring to walk on her own. And I do mean 'on her own', since having her hand held was yet another restraint she did not accept. She was a fearless child - heights, distance, stairs - you name it, she mastered control over it. Julia was not a great rule follower, instead she made them (or broke them). Nothing illustrated this better than one of Julia's favorite stories: In Switzerland one morning, Julia and I walked to her pre-school, a little less than ten minutes away. Once there, she refused my request for a hug or a kiss and skipped off instead to greet her friends. I pretend to pout, waved g'bye and left the schoolyard for home. About a half hour later, I hear a knock at the front door; opening it, I look out, my eyes being pulled downward by the 4 year old standing there. Looking around and not seeing anyone, I incredulously inquire what she was doing home. 'You looked so sad when you left that I came home to give you a kiss and a hug,' she stated simply, ready to return to school on her own. I grabbed for my keys and we returned to l'École Rose, much to the amazement of the teachers there, who told me that no one had ever pulled off a coup like Julia had that day.
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| Julia and Mom (March 26 1998) |
Things have not been sweetness and light every day of Julia's life. She has inherited a very healthy dose of hardheadedness from both her parents, which on the positive side means she is able to easily assert herself but on the negative side, makes for some heated exchanges between parent and daughter. (Julia
piercing her own eyebrow at age 14 without parental consent immediately springs to mind ... ) The adorable baby evolved into a beautiful child who has grown into a stunning young woman. Yet somehow, this fact seems lost on my Julia, who goes on about her life completely unassumingly. She is doing well in school, is healthy and happy. As a parent, you cannot ask for much more.
For the record, Julia's father and I were never 'trying for a girl'. The plan all along was to have three children; Fate just happened to make the last one a girl. While I maintained throughout my pregnancy with Julia that a third son would be a welcomed addition to the two we were already raising, I've come to understand the magic in the bond between a mother and daughter. There's an old Irish saying that goes, 'A son is a son until he takes him a wife, a daughter is a daughter all of her life. The older Julia becomes, the more truth I find there to be in that adage.
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| Julia (Summer 2010) |
