December 21, 2018! And what an amazing day it was! For this was the day that the Creator of the Universe preordained from the beginning of time that Surraye Khyri-Simone’ Hinkle would come power-sliding into this world. I do not think it was any coincidence that she landed in Indianapolis; a city known worldwide for speed. She walked early, she talked early, she ran early, and she shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. She is sure to set the world on fire one day!
The celestial world saw her coming on the Winter Solstice of 2018 and lit up the sky with a Long Night Full Moon, the conjunction of Mercury and Jupiter, AND a Meteor Shower all the way from the Little Dipper. In an act of even greater rareness, Full Moons and Ursid Meteor Showers filled the night sky on both Friday and Saturday. The next time a Full Moon will coincide with the Winter Solstice will be in 2094, the year Surraye will turn 76 years old.
It was a Friday night in Indy and A Christmas Carol was playing at the IRT, Yuletide Celebration at the Hilbert Circle Theatre, The Book of Mormon was at Clowes Hall, and Die Hard (the quintessential Christmas movie) was playing at the Historic Artcraft Theatre. The city was all dressed up with brightly colored lights and glitter for Christmas, but as far as we were concerned, it might as well have been a great big celebration of Surraye’s debut.
The movie, Aquaman, opened in theaters across the nation on the day Surraye was born, but the crazy premise of that movie paled in comparison to real life in America in 2018. We were two years into a reality show presidency and the dealmaker was threatening to shut down the government at midnight if he didn’t get his way on a border wall. The same day, The Notorious RBG had two cancerous nodules removed from her left lung and sadly, it would not be the last we would hear about her cancer. On a brighter note, they named a stretch of the California 134 Freeway after Barack Obama and hung the signs on that day. A record 117 women had been elected or appointed to Congress a month earlier, the most diverse class in our nation’s history, and record numbers of women won in state and local races all over the country. Just imagine the leadership possibilities awaiting a baby girl born in 2018. Especially for a baby girl who is NON-STOP!
On the day Surraye was born, it was her paternal grandparents 37th wedding anniversary. They were married in 1981 in a historic landmark in Minnesota on a Winter Solstice night so cold the icy wind snatched their breath away and the snow squeaked beneath their footsteps as they rushed into the church. The longest night of the year! Surraye’s grandfather was 29 on his wedding day 37 years ago.
Surraye’s daddy had turned 29 just a week before her arrival. The long-awaited day had finally arrived. Walker, Imani, and Darcy (Imani’s mom) headed to St. Vincent Women’s Hospital. Her daddy was so excited to meet his baby daughter but holding Imani’s hand and watching the epidural process he fainted and ended up on the floor, out cold, right there in the delivery room! All three nurses rushed to his aid. One was fanning him. Another ran for juice. The other tried to gently coax him awake. In screaming pain, Imani piped up (in three syllables) , “HEL-LO-O! I’m the one in labor over here! Have been for almost 23 hours now!” They laugh about it now, but it wasn’t funny at the time; it took three needles before they got it right and she still bears the scars to prove it. When that precious little girl finally decided to make her grand entrance, her daddy began gazing at her pretty little face and hasn’t stopped. This thing is for sure: she is the apple of her daddy’s eye and he is the apple of hers.
Surraye’s big brother was 7 years old when she was born. Christian was so excited to have a baby sister. He told anyone who would listen all about her: friends, family, teachers, total strangers, anyone! Some were afraid he would hug her too tight, but he held her as gently as a butterfly. When he went to meet her at the hospital, he wore a shirt that said, “Keep Calm. I’m The Big Brother.” Christian will be a fine big brother to Surraye.
For Surraye’s Gigi, this was a very big day and she wasn’t going to miss a moment. Imani is Darcy’s only child and Surraye would be Imani’s first born. There is something about that first grandchild; just ask any grandparent. Excitement, anticipation, fear, trepidation, anxiety, pain, exhaustion, mysterious bodily fluids, panic attacks, hot flashes, a bad reaction to the epidural, tears, rubber legs, more bodily fluids, and pure joy are a few of the words that come to mind that describe the rodeo that followed in that hospital room. The Holy Spirit walked with Darcy all through the night and into the next day; she was overwhelmed by the presence of God in that place. She was cool as a cucumber as she spoke calm and reassurance to her little girl all grown up. Seems like just yesterday she was the one giving birth to an adorable baby girl, but that was in 1993, a lifetime ago.
After a day of agony for everyone involved, this world was rewarded with a strong and courageous warrior in the form of a helpless newborn baby girl, Surraye Khyri-Simone’ Hinkle. She came flying in, up on two wheels, power-sliding her way into our arms and into our hearts. And we can’t wait to see how she will set the world on fire when her time comes.
