Gloria in Excelsis Deo, indeed!

Ainslie loves the song Angels We Have Heard on High for the same reason I’ve always liked that song—the Gloooooooooooooooorias are fun to sing. I’ll sing that part and she’ll say, “More!” and then sing with me. Listening to her sing her ahhahhhaahhhaahhh along with me, the full impact of the Latin words hits me.

For so many Christmases, I was sad. Mourning the loss of our first baby, who would have been due December 8, 2001, then mourning the fact that we were still not expecting a child. Hearing the story of Mary being approached by Gabriel, being told that she was blessed among women was excruciating. Why couldn’t I be blessed too? Even last Christmas, I had just been surprised by a pregnancy, only to be disappointed again.

This year, I am so very grateful. I have realized that I AM blessed among women, and among mothers. I have this precious, precocious little girl, and I have time to lavish on her in her toddlerhood before that prayed-for sibling comes along. Once again, I sat in church during Advent near tears. Ainslie stood beside me on the pew watching the kids’ choir sing their songs, then watching the handbell choir, and of course, narrating the goings-on of the congregation throughout the sermon. The closing hymn was Angels We Have Heard on High—her favorite! Since we had been singing it in the car a scant hour earlier, I figured she’d be thrilled. Instead, she hollered, “No! BaaaaaBaaaa.” Translated, she was stating her preference for Baa, Baa Black Sheep.

Glory To God in the Highest, Indeed!