Liam.

March 16, White Settlement.

A big missing piece of our circus jumble joined us today as Dee Dee arrived to spend a week with Kelly Miller.
She had been absent since the beginning of the season but present in our hearts; I know Tavana was in constant touch with her, and many of us thought about her. She is staying behind, in Oklahoma City, to be with her infant son, Liam, who was born last year nine weeks premature and with a heart defect that threatened his survival. He was also born with Down Syndrome, although to such a low degree that doctors are now thinking about having him retested. I can imagine how hard it has been for Dee Dee, alone with two kids as Sam is with her too, away from the circus and her circle of family and friends and support, faced with the uncertainty of her baby son's uphill battle to live, the stress and anxiety, the fear, the loneliness and isolation, the long nights.
She is with us now, and we finally get to meet Liam, who is beautiful and tiny, although I'm sure he looks oh so big for her who held him at barely two pounds. And he's getting bigger fast, she says, as if making up for lost time.
I love his name, Liam.
It means strength in Irish, she said, and that's why they chose it, too.