The Blessing Way

With the impending birth of my friend's baby, a group of her girlfriends got together in a unique celebration resurrecting a spiritual tradition of the Navajo Indian tribe. Female friends and relatives of the mother-to-be gathered to show our support, impart our collective knowledge, and generally allow our spirits to join with her as she embarked on this, the most precious adventure in a woman's life.

Each person was requested to bring a dish to share, a blessing written to the mother-to-be and a bead that represented something personal about your relationship with the new mother. After sharing the food, each woman read her blessing. Needless to say, it was an emotional experience for everyone involved.

We laughed and cried as the experienced mothers gave safe advice for dealing with the pains of delivery and the anxiety every mother in labor experiences. Those who had not yet experienced this part of life gave emotional support and wishes for the best possible outcome.

Writing my blessing for my friend gave me, the mother of four, the opportunity to relive my own experiences of child birth. Not wanting to dwell on the pain, which I have long forgotten, I tried to remind her to remember the entire event so that in the future when her child asks "What was it like on the day I was born?", she will have a wonderful memory to share with her baby.

After each woman read her blessing, she explained why she had chosen a specific bead and placed it on a plate that we all later signed with our best wishes for the anticipated arrival.  My bead was a pewter heart with wings.  Inscribed on the back were the directions "N S E & W" all symbolizing my wish that she and her baby follow their hearts.  

The host of the event had several "stations" set up around her home that allowed us to do interactive projects that were related to the big event. My daughter and I went through the beads and arranged them into a necklace that the mother-to-be will carry with her as she progresses through labor and delivery. The necklace, consisting of a beads representing her dear female family and friends, will represent our spirits being with her as she travels the final part of the road to becoming a mom.

Another station was set up to place all of our blessings into a book that the host had made just for this occasion. The book will also be with the mother-to-be serving as inspiration along her journey.  We all also had the opportunity to work on a piece of art for the child's room.

One of the most interesting stations was the "belly cast" where the mother-to-be allowed us to place wet, pre-plastered strips of material onto her belly.  When it dried, it was a lovely white reminder of her pregnancy.  She intends to use it as artwork in the baby's room.  Someone even suggested putting a light behind it and using it as a nightlight.

The final event at the Blessing Way involved each women tying a silk ribbon around her right wrist that she will wear until the safe delivery of the new one.  Our ribbons were beautiful ruby colored silk.

The entire event was just beautiful.  I highly suggest that if you have a treasured female friend that is embarking on this adventure, you consider making this part of what I feel will be renewed as a beautiful tradition for years to come.