It’s been five months since we’ve seen you, but you’ve been on our minds as we care for Haplan and Lucy, and see them growing so big and beautiful. You knew better than us how busy we would get after both of our babies made it home safely. In short, we are sorry for the delayed communication. To say we are grateful for the loving care and guidance you offered our family is not anywhere near the hugeness of our emotion. Just looking at the photos from those early days, we weep with gratitude. With your support, our son is alive after having walked the gauntlet, and there is no way to thank you for that. With your compassion and teaching, we learned to look after these tiny people, and now they are big and buoyant in body and spirit.

For these last months, your names come rolling off our tongues like a mantra. We remember each of you and have not forgotten the smallest words and gestures, and we tell Hap and Lu about the doctors and nurses who brought them through—their own personal mythology. Hearing the sounds of a shower curtain pulled…the gentle whooshing of hands scrubbed soft…a compassionate voice saying, “Like this” and “It’s very simple,” and “You can do it” and “Mommy’s here”…these are the sounds that catch us off guard, and even now, make us come undone and feel overcome with love and something much more than thanks. Please know that even the smallest acts of yours in that soft-lit room become like prayer beads to the families you tend.

With much love and respect,

Jordan, Julianne, Haplan and Lucy Cohen