mary jane and mother teresa

mary jane made a little bed for jedidiah one night about a week ago. she announced that she was going to sleep next to him. she put it on the other side of the big bed and even moved her blanket and pillow over next to the little makeshift bed. i told her she should just stay in my bed, because she is pretty close to him already right there, since he sleeps in my tummy. she moved her blanket and pillow back and talked to him before she fell asleep.
mary jane has had a childlike devotion to mother teresa since all saints' day 2009 when she dressed as her for our homeschool group's all saints' day party. it was cemented further when we made a trip to visit the missionaries of charity at their AIDS hospice in virginia highlands. and during this pregnancy i've really felt a closeness with mother teresa. she loved the "poorest of the poor"- society's outcasts- those with physical disabilities. we made a recent trip down to visit them on august 26th 2010- mother teresa's 100th birthday. they gave me a relic of mother teresa that i carry in my wallet- a piece of her white sari. also a miraculous medal blessed by her back in 1995.

well, the next night I felt like my heart was going to break for mary jane. she’s SO very attached to him that i felt i had to remind her of what may happen with him. so, as she sat next to me on the couch i reminded her that we may have to say goodbye to jedidiah soon after he is born. we will get to hold him for a bit, then we have to let him go…but then, the greatest thing will happen. then he will fly to heaven and mother teresa can hold him.
she looked up and said, “me?”
“no, the REAL mother teresa, the one in the book we read at night. she lives in heaven with Jesus and she is really GOOD at holding babies. i think she will LOVE jedidiah. and jedidiah will like her too.”
“we should make a mother Teresa blanket for jedidiah!”
then she pulled up my shirt to look at my tummy. she squinted one eye, and brought the open eye really close to my now large belly button.
"hi jedidiah!" she said. and then pulled my shirt back down and went back to playing.