My grandpa was never a super lovey-dovey person. I never really got the impression he really enjoyed children.
While my friends’ grandparents gave them nice gifts, or better yet (in my child-brain) a $20 bill, my grandpa gifted us money in unusual ways. The most memorable was a jar of nickles, totaling $20.
While I was completely and utterly thrilled with the $20 in nickles, it was not lost on me that I had to work a little bit harder to spend the $20 in nickles than my friends did with their dollar bills. I couldn’t carry around a giant mason jar in my Punky Brewster purse any more than I could carry those nickles in my pocket.
When we returned home from my grandpa’s house, my parents had to go out to find some coin wrappers. I then had to divide and wrap all of my nickles to then take *back* to the bank to exchange for dollar bills. Then, and only then, could I actually take the money to a store to spend.
This is not a story of me being ungrateful. Had my grandpa given me cash, I doubt I would have remembered it in the same way. But, it is a picture that, while the end result is the same, I had $20, for my friends, the ability to spend their money was quick and easy. Me? I had to work and spend a little more time at it.
Our journies to parenthood are much the same. Some families are given straight, crisp cash. Some are given a giant mason jar full of nickles. Some are able to conceive quickly, without complications, some experience infertility and loss. Some births are quick, and “easy”, some take days and are complicated.
We recognize that everyone’s journey is different and unique and we tailor our support to each individual family. We hope you’re given the $20 bill, but rest assured, at RCD we are equipped and qualified to support you in your best birth and postpartum experience if you get that jar of nickles, too.
