Bittersweet and Melancholy

I started crocheting a baby blanket for my nephew and niece-in-law who are expecting a baby.  I am not sure if this blanket will be needed for very long.  The pregnancy is a very difficult one.  Pre-natal tests indicate the probability of Downes' Syndrome which, of course, all involved can accept with love.  But there are also indicators that the baby may be born with life-threatening deformities and may not survive the birthing process or, if he does, his first year of life.  While the brain and heart are developing at a normal rate and a proper size for this stage of the pregnancy, the rest of his small body is under-developed.  This is the first baby for the couple who were married last April and the whole family is praying that the doctors and technicians have over stated the risks.  Whatever the case, every baby is entitled to be welcomed with love and with some gifts from his family.  Even if his life is hopelessly short, his presence among us needs to be recognized and celebrated ... though, perhaps validated is a better word, in this case.

I am using a very soft bamboo yarn in palest silver grey and winter white.  The eye-popping vibrancy of the colors used in the blanket I recently finished for my great niece Hazel just don't seem appropriate.  Something softer, something a bit wistful, something that underscores the gossamer nature of life itself ... that is what is needed here.