Toast To Welcome Baby Melanie - by Jyothi Menezes

In the year of the Fearless Girl, a toast to welcome a new baby...

Thank you Jyothi, thank you Melanie’s Mom and Dad, thank you Melanie’s grandparents, for letting me publish this toast on my blog. It is a delightful welcome to baby Melanie, and is an inspiration to little girls and big girls alike.

Toast to welcome Baby Melanie

by Jyothi Menezes

Dear Friends and Family,

It is great joy and honor to Welcome you here on behalf of Baby Melanie’s parents and grand-parents.

This little girl, born in the second decade of the New Century, New Millennium – May she have a grand life, may she live to see the turn of this Century to the next one The Twenty Second Century. For me personally, it is an amazing coincidence that I lived here in this very condo for nearly 10 years in the last decade of the last century.

What a time to be born in. Pretty soon there will be driverless cars and fewer accidents on the roads. Drones will be delivering your Amazon packages – no, no we haven’t gone that far yet – I do not think they will be delivering your baby brother or sister – not yet.  Your country of birth – Canada - is successfully implementing Peace Keeping missions. Your country of Origin – India – is determined to eradicate poverty by the year 2020. So Baby, by the time you grow up, hopefully it will be more peace and less poverty throughout the world.

This is the Year of The Fearless Girl - Melanie be proud of your self – you are born in the year when the Fearless Girl Statue stood in front of the Mighty Bull in front of the New York Stock Exchange – to me, she seemed to say “I don’t’ care a damn about all your money and power – all I want to do is – do the right thing and have fun doing it”.  So stand boldly and fearlessly Baby and enjoy living your best life.

Baby Melanie - I am always amazed at how cool your parents are.  Perhaps it is their happy childhood in Mumbai, the Mangalorean Catholic values. Or as I would like to think – their Software Engineering background that makes them totally confident in any situation. I am sure that their own parents and upbringing had a lot to do with it.  I hope that you grow up happily in their footsteps. They say “It takes a Village to Raise A Child”, and I want to reassure you Baby and your parents that all of us gathered here and your circle of family and friends around the world are there to wish you well, to help raise you.

Here’s wishing Baby Melanie-  All the Very Best – Good Health, Long Life filled with great Joy, Happiness and Adventure.

Two words in Konkani “Wodlo Ja” – that mean a whole lot. Translation of those two words – “Become Big” – God’s Blessing to you to grow up Big – in every sense of the word – in health, wealth and wisdom – and bring great honour to your family, friends and community.

 And now I request my older sister, Dr. Nolda D’Cunha to say the grace.