'Tuesday's Child' | Her name is Anna Lee

Welcoming little Anna Lee, our fourth grandchild, has been a reminder that every new life carries its own story of wonder, love, and grace. Born five weeks early, her arrival resulted in a stint in the NICU and deep awe; a tender glimpse of resilience, miracles, and the beauty of fragile beginnings.

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This is the fourth time I have the privilege of penning a personal reflection on the occasion of the birth of a grandbaby. And with each subsequent one, I have wondered if the 'muse' will reappear. After all, what more is there to say about the wonder, love, awe, mystery, and miracle associated with new life and the meeting of a new grandchild? 

I needn’t have worried. There is always more to say.

This time, though, the words carry a different kind of weight and a deeper sense of awe. This little granddaughter arrived earlier than expected - five weeks early - on a Tuesday in August, tiny and delicate, whisked away in an incubator. And with her came the tender lesson of witnessing fragile newborn resilience from the sidelines in the NICU.

That is hard. 

No touching. 

Just looking. 

Just marvelling.

‘Tuesday’s child is full of grace.’

Even though my 'looking' was obstructed by oxygen tubes, wires, beeping monitors, blinking alarms, humming lights, and a hushed, sterile environment, I realised that this was a cocooned space of special care and willpower. I was struck by an innate recognition of the preciousness and dignity of life - no matter how small - and the desire to preserve and protect it, even as helplessness hovers at the edges.

It is also a space where the will to live shines through and a fighting spirit is on display in this tiny 2.5kg bundle of preemie preciousness. There are no words to fully capture the experience.

It is sacred ground, where miracles are measured in numbers, levels, tiny cries, and breaths taken.

For me, love became quieter, more reverent. 

‘Tuesday’s child is full of grace.’

Surrounded by fierce love, upheld by humble prayers of grace, strengthened by medical breakthroughs, and tenderly cared for by skilled paediatricians, occupational therapists, and devoted NICU nurses, I cannot imagine anyone remaining unmoved by the mystery and miracle of a newborn life.

I know ‘Tuesday’s child is full of grace’ is only a simple nursery rhyme, yet the fact that Anna—whose very name means ‘grace’—was born on a Tuesday feels like a little grandmotherly creative licence to see it as a signpost reminder of divine grace in her being fearfully and wonderfully made.

Grace in her name, grace in her timing, grace in her will to live. 

Anna Lee. Tuesday’s child. Full of grace. Full of fight. Full of life.

Grandbaby number four. A little warrior. A new kind of beautiful.

And meeting her - under these circumstances - only made the love grow stronger, faster, and deeper than I ever thought possible.

I can't wait to hold her. 

I will be patient. 

I can't wait to sing her the simple nursery rhyme. 

I look forward to that.   

I can't wait to watch her grow alongside her 'big sister' and share in their girly giggles, butterfly kisses, and sweet, sugar-and-spice adventures. 

I will cherish each moment.

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