Crossing Jordan by Gayle Keeney-Canfield

Author:Gayle Keeney-Canfield
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, time travel, christian, pilgrims, puritans, 15th century, 1600s, early american, keeney
Publisher: Gayle Keeney-Canfield

*************

The year 1624 began with a severe winter storm that blanketed the city with nearly a foot of snow. John had a terrible time trudging back and forth to the mill that entire week and came home frozen and exhausted. Henry had taken a slight fever, which Bridget assured me was due to his cutting teeth (he was slobbering all over me and everything else). Having attained the grand old age of six months, he had learned to sit up on his own, and John was trying to teach him to crawl. It was comical to watch the father creeping around on the floor in front of the baby, trying to instruct the infant by showing him what to do. Secretly, I wished he would let the boy alone—for I knew that when Henry became mobile, a whole new set of worries would assail me—He would be into everything.

By the first of May, I looked like I had swallowed a watermelon. I was certainly larger with this child than with Henry, and I began to wonder whether I might be carrying two babies, instead of just one. I’d had to let out many of my dresses to accommodate my added girth.

News from England was sparse and sporadic. At the end of May, we learned that the House of Commons had impeached King James’ treasurer for corruption in office and for his opposition to the coming war with Spain. And on June 9th, I gave birth to Alexander Charles Keeney, our second son. He was a very large baby, which accounted for my greater size. However, unlike Henry, he was quiet and reserved, with absolutely no hair on his small, pointed head. Bridget helped me again through the difficult birth, which took a total of 39 hours, and she stayed with us for over a week tending to Henry and Alexander, while I recovered my strength. Alexander’s birth had taken a great deal out of me, and I prayed that I wouldn’t conceive again for a while.

Occasionally, we were able to send letters back to England via merchant ships which docked in Leiden, and sometimes we would receive letters in return from Lady Elizabeth, relating how things were at home, sending us news that we couldn’t get otherwise. Pastor John was a wealth of information about the politics of the day and the goings-on at Court. How he came by the news was a mystery, until we learned that he was receiving newspapers from home. I wasn’t even aware that a newspaper even existed yet, until John told me that the first one was started in 1622, nearly two years ago. I realized that stay-at-home moms really do miss out on what’s going on in the world.

On Sundays, John and I would pack up the boys and attend services in the tiny chapel. Between the morning and afternoon meetings, our small congregation trudged to the Robinson house for the noon meal. Bridget made us all feel welcome, and John and I began to make friends with the other families in the area.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.