Advent, like the last month of pregnancy: getting ready for a new baby to come

Advent, the time that prepares us for the arrival of Christmas, has just begun. It is a time of waiting. It is a time of hope, of preparations, of inner and outer turmoil; we decorate our homes, we contact old friends and loved ones, our hearts soften and we become better people!

What is actually going on inside us? We are preparing a space for someone to come… a space in our thoughts, in our hearts, but also in our homes!

Every day, a little window to open, with the joy of reaching the end!

 

How similar is this “magical” time of Advent to that of the last month of pregnancy. When on day x the countdown begins…

And then we begin to enjoy the remaining time with a new kind of slowness, almost living in a dream dimension, between the imagined child and the real one, to quote the words of the psychologist Vegetti Finzi. When all that is “necessary” has been done, and what is left is a kind of suspense.

 

“Finally, it’s all ready, I HAVE NO MORE DUTIES,” said the future mother. “I can just savour the wait. And I feel fine alone, with my baby bump! I’m also fine at home, in my home; in this weird 2020, how much time have we spent here, cleaning and decorating it!

Now I can cover my old book of fairy tales with paper, cross-stitch the little blanket or knit the classic woollen slippers, I can look for the words of the old lullabies and copy them in blue ink!

“But I can also fall asleep if I’m sleepy, and when I wake up I can make a cake…

“Tonight, at dinner, I’ll light some candles to surprise my partner with un unexpected moment of intimacy.”

The couple is about to become a family; how many changes, really, and what a special Advent, when there is a new baby coming!

 

Translated by Elena Gandelli and Elisabetta Ciocca

Reviewed by Prof. Rolf Cook