Circle of Life

Stories We Tell

A Fictional Series

---

Having a child is the ultimate game changer. No matter how crazy or mixed up life may be, it finally starts to make sense, and you’re able to grasp a hold of this concrete, unwavering sense of the reason you exist – to keep your child safe.

When I gave birth to my daughter, a wide array of feelings swirled around inside of me, both emotionally and physically. It was hard to believe that she was just one child, because it felt as though I’d swallowed an entire orchestra.

I experienced excitement, anticipation, worry… and pain. Sitting there on the hospital bed, finally understanding what labor really felt like, I was lost inside of my breathing, the whiteness of the room, and the smell of antiseptic.

Once she made her way out, however, the room transformed into a theater of brilliant spinning colors, and my baby was the star.

Harry was beside us, his eyes wet with tears, and he ran his fingers through her curly red hair.

“We shall call her Lavinia,” he declared.

While that was not the name that we had talked about months prior, I suddenly felt sad for Harry – that he hadn’t been able to feel her birth from the same mysterious and maternal perspective that I had – so I enthusiastically agreed.

Shortly after starting the second grade, Lavinia began to protest.

“I hate my name!” She would cry.

We tried explaining it to her – the story behind her name and what it meant to her father – but she would have no part of it.

Finally, when she was in the fourth grade, Lavinia came home from school and presented us with a card. The front consisted of a drawing she had made of herself, recognizable only by the red crayon hair, and on the inside she had handwritten a message:

“From this day forward, you shall call me Levi.”

We were impressed by her vocabulary more than anything else, but we were also acutely aware of her persistence – perhaps because she was our only child. So, Levi it was.

And now, some twenty years later, my baby is going to have a baby of her own, and I am over the moon excited for her.

The circle of life is a magnificent wonder, and like the brilliant colors that I imagined when she was born… around and around it goes.

---

A Note From Me

I can see that my images are becoming less cartoonish for this story – plus this one took far less time so I’m happy that I could hit ‘publish’ before midnight.

I’m also sensing that my story is being influenced by the show that I’m currently watching. I’m reminded of one of my favorite graphic design instructors who told us “Nothing is really original. We see things, we get inspired, and we borrow them – just be sure to make it your own.”

The show travels back and forth through time, which is the ‘borrowed’ idea. But the stories being told from different perspectives is my own.

Anyway, I started this segment out with the intention of Levi giving birth, but once I got started it seemed like it would be more interesting to go back to her own birth – before moving on to the modern era.

That’s about all I think.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed the new addition – and the image!

---

Word of the Day Challenge: Orchestra