To be a Mother

 What is it to be a Mother?

To know that I was growing a baby inside my body, to suddenly feel my baby moving, to hear a heartbeat, to see my belly moving as my baby turned and kicked, to know my baby was safe inside my body, that it was being nourished and fed, that we were sharing the same blood, that my heart was beating and pumping blood through my baby’s body, that my baby could hear me talking and singing songs to it, that my baby was comforted by my movements and voice, that my baby would choose when he or she wanted to leave my body and see the world….all of this was a joy, a miracle.

To see my baby, hold my baby for the first time, to hear it cry, feel the ache in my breast as it suckled and the milk began to flow, to nourish my baby from my body, rock and comfort my baby, watch my baby sleep, hear the sounds as my baby slept and awoke, watch my tiny baby with tiny fingers and miniature fingernails, begin to grow…..all of this was a joy, a miracle.

To see the first smile with waving arms and legs, to watch strength flow into my baby, rolling over, sitting up, starting to stand as little teeth appeared in my baby’s sweet little mouth, suddenly “mama”  or “papa” or perhaps “goggy” to call the dog, a walking, talking baby….all of this was a joy, a miracle.

My baby was no longer a baby, but now a toddler, a child with it’s own thoughts, it’s own desires, it’s own dreams, and I knew that all I needed to do was to love and adore my child, to keep my child safe, to give my child room to grow and learn about the world and create a world of  it’s own….all of this was a joy, a miracle.

My child has a child now, their own child, a grandchild for me, for Dan.  For each of them, we will let our grandchild be who they want to be, who they are meant to be, and we will love this grandchild with all our heart, as we did each of our children….all of this is a joy, a miracle.  

The cycle continues….

This is what it is to be a mother….a joy, a miracle!