“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.”
Frederick Buechner
I sat on the stoop of my Brooklyn apartment, 40 weeks pregnant, catching my breath from a five block walk. And my mom said to me, “Your life is never going to be the same again.”
That is such a scary thing to hear. What do you mean? When you don’t have a child yet, it sounds like you’ll never be able to take a Sunday nap again. Or you’ll never be able to go out dancing on a whim. You can just forget about brunch with the girls.
The day after Mia was born, we had a few moments just the two of us. Before the shift change of nurses, and before my husband was allowed back for visiting hours. Mia had slept just two hours that night, and was finally calm. I laid her in front of me and played with her little fingers. I was scared of her, and overwhelmingly in love with her.
What my mom meant was: Your heart now exists outside of your body.
Every day with Mia has felt vulnerable and precious. And fleeting. I can feel her growing. She seems to always be learning something new. Which is so crazy, because I made her from scratch, and now she can chew on her toes. So much coordination!
Motherhood has brought so much joy into my life. I love this little girl more than I ever could have imagined.
We need to stop telling mamas-to-be to “get sleep while you can”, and start telling them to get ready for their hearts to grow four sizes.
Because motherhood is the best thing to ever happen to me.