By Kelsey Diller

West Seattle just had its classiest baby shower in a secret garden venue, still unknown to most West Seattle natives. The stage was set with a garden fountain, the little white house, flowers from Pikes Place Market, specialty cheeses from Husky’s Deli and handmade cakes as the seventeen guests arrived.

I thought this day would never come after 16 years of marriage, this will be our first child. The day was so perfect, it was in stark contrast to the long road of miscarriages and the traumatic emergency surgery that had preceded it. In between the fear of trying again we lived to the fullest, having the opportunity to travel to Greece, England, France, Italy, Switzerland and the Marietas Islands. I founded and ran a company downtown Seattle with 50 people and my husband worked full time while studying for 10 years to achieve his Instrument Commercial Helicopter License.

We weren’t trying to get pregnant when the pregnancy test came back positive and I braced for impact. I tried to stay positive but detached. As the weeks became months, we saw our healthy baby girl on the ultrasound monitor and I finally could relax that this was all real.

After having lived in West Seattle for 13 years, our community has been there for us in weeping with us and celebrating with us. And today we celebrate.