The Good Shepherdess

Craig and I use a lot of nicknames in our home to help each other stay on top of the people that are more connected to just one of us, rather than both.  It’s a mnemonic device that we find really useful.  For example, many years ago Craig had a colleague with a very common first name like Jim (it wasn’t Jim) who was known in our house as “The Source” because he always seemed to have insider information about everything.  Of course, the people in our lives who have been given a moniker do not know it because we never disclose these nicknames or use them in public.  That said, I have decided to make an exception this one time.

Recently I connected with a woman who knew Rex when he was an infant and met him when he was about six months old.  We have been calling this woman “The Good Shepherdess.”  There are a couple of reasons for this choice, but the most important one is that she may have saved Rex’s life or at least greatly improved it.  As you know, Rex was born cleft-affected and was unable to latch on to regular bottle nipples to nurse.  Consequently, for the first few months of his life he was not at all growing and dropped from the 50th percentile in weight at birth to the 2nd.  The Good Shepherdess learned of his need and sent cleft nursers to his orphanage which turned things around for Rex in a big way.  Proper nutrition helped him endure the wait for us and gain the strength to tackle developmental tasks.

When the Good Shepherdess met Rex, she took some photos for which I am so thankful.  Just look at my dreamy baby boy at six months old:

So, Good Shepherdess, if you are reading this, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for loving my little lamb when he was most vulnerable, for giving him a chance and some protection from afar.  You were there for him when he needed you and that can never be erased.  Our lives are forever connected because of one Armenian angel that touched both of us so deeply.