Seven years ago today I became a mother. Sure I had endured a full pregnancy and all of the “fun” that goes with it, but on this day seven years ago I no longer was just a host to the unborn. At the request (clears throat…demands) of my obgyn my son was evicted from the womb and he grudgingly joined this world at 10:38 a.m. on January 19th, 2007. I was ill prepared for this moment as I was ill prepared for the majority of the moments of the pregnancy/my life leading up to it.
However, on that day I was finally allowed to open a letter that my mother had written for me in high school. The letter was to be open after the birth of my first child and was one of the few things that I actually remembered to pack to bring to the hospital. In that letter my mother offered up some much needed advice. As I lay in bed in my room in the mother baby unit of the hospital, trying desperately to not drop the 8 lb 4 oz sleeping baby in my arms I opened this letter.
She wrote: "You
are about to embark on the most beautiful, exciting, and frustrating journey of
your life." And as a young and new
mother, I had no idea what she meant.
Seven years later I can rightfully say that I have a better understanding
of these words. I have enjoyed his
quirky personality, seen beauty in things that he has done that only a mother
could, been a part of his adventures, and a part of his story. I have also come to the realization that
raising a child is THE most difficult and frustrating thing a person can
do. There have been days that I wondered
if I was going to make it through (or if he was). Actually these account for more days than I
care to admit. She wrote: “Through all
of this there will be moments when you feel helpless and times when you are so
proud you could pop.” I can attest that
these both happen quite frequently.
She also told to me to "enjoy it all- it passes all too
quickly" and as I sit here on my son's 7th birthday I am beginning to realize
what she means. What happened to those
days, those weeks, those months, those years?
How has it been seven years already?
It seems like time has flown by.
There have been times that the important things have sometimes been
superseded by those that (looking back) weren't so important because frankly I’m
not flawless. But I am doing what I can
and I am definitely looking forward to enjoying the years to come--frustrating days
and all.
HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY AIDAN ANTONIO!
