The Greatest Thing Ever Done

B Patrick Jensen
Nov 5, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Jan 14

Margaret Eileen

Introducing my dear Mother’s 5th great grandchild, Margaret Eileen Headley. I don’t think I have ever been more grateful for my family. The topic of family and family legacy has weighed heavily on me lately. And then I saw this Instagram post from my niece, Chelsea. She and her husband Sam are celebrating the birth of their perfect child and newest addition to the rapidly growing generational clan.

The post was a huge “wow!” for me.

First, that kid is so fn cute, beautiful holy shit wow stunning. God’s miracles sparkle in her precious eyes. Then, of course it was the namesake — MARGARET EILEEN — Here is how that stacks up on the Mommy-side family tree:

MARGARET Mary Jensen 1932 - 1986 (my Mom and Chelsea’s maternal grandmother)
EILEEN Theresa Jensen Rush 1963 - 2014 (my sister “Bean” and Chelsea’s mom)
Chelsea Rush Headley (my niece and a new Mommy)
MARGARET EILEEN Headley ( Chelsea's first child and the the star of our show!).

In addition, Chelsea and hubby Sam shares that he too has acclaimed family members Margaret as a namesake. Sam is gonna tell ya a great, great great add on here:

Two days after Margaret Eileen’s birth ( Halloween) I received a picture of my Great Great Aunt Margaret (Margaret Eileen’s Great great great Aunt). I had to laugh when I got the picture, my elderly “Aunt Marge” dressed as a hippie as her niece, 4 generations removed, was laying in a bassinet listening to Grateful Dead Lullabies.

Family is the greatest thing in life. I am thrilled our little girl carries the name of the powerful women before her. Margaret Eileen!

Thank you Sam. No one says it better. I am so glad for my whole family, whom I love very much and cherish more and more every day. It seems odd that the further and longer I am away, the more I appreciate them.

Powerful Women Before Her

Sam's "powerful women before her" missive hits the nail on the head! I married a Jewish woman although I was very “Catholic” on the books so to speak, like my siblings and their families. One of the cooler things I learned about the Jewish tradition is that a person’s Jewish identity is traditionally determined by matrilineal descent.

This means that if one’s mother is Jewish, the child is considered Jewish as well, regardless of the father’s heritage. Jewish law emphasizes the importance of the maternal influence. The mother’s potent role in shaping a child’s values and cultural identity is paramount.

Interesting, huh? Regardless of religious flap, the heart of the idea makes infinite sense across all generations. My niece Chelsea has just amped her power to love another human being beyond anything this mere mortal man could possibly comprehend.

The Folly of Regrets

Eileen Jensen Rush and daughter Chelsea Rush in a golden time

My mom passed away nearly four decades ago at the age of 53. Then Chelsea lost her mom, my dear sister Bean, ten years ago. Bean was only 51. I have spent far too many years saddened, lamenting the circumstances of their deaths and all too brief, often hard going lives. I was stewing on the matter, even after all these years, the very night I read Chelsea’s post about her perfect MARGARET EILEEN!

The folly of regrets left me. And I was healed. Just like that. I was healed.

Chelsea says it best on behalf of her and hubby Sam— “The greatest thing we have ever done.”

I agree.

There is a small, perhaps unremarkable, memorial dedicated to my Mom, MARGARET and sister EILEEN grounded in a Camden County, New Jersey cemetery, a few blocks away from where Bean, me and my siblings grew up. Etched in a dusty nondescript stone are both their names — Margaret Eileen’s name.

My Mom counseled, “Dying is part of living. But it is only life that matters. Life is to be celebrated.” She was freakin smart, my Mom. So was my sister Bean, so is Chelsea. And I have a feeling that Margaret Eileen will be the most brilliant of em all!