it is seven years today since my first son was born. he was the first of my babies to be born at home, and it was the best choice i could have made. it is strange how time stretches and contracts. the years since he has been a part of our family seem so long, but i can remember his birth as though it happened last week. people say that you don't remember the pain of childbirth, but i find that i remember both the pain and the glory vividly. his birth was smooth and simple and while i would never claim it was easy, i hadn't known that it could be so uncomplicated. the litigator caught him, and i saw in his eyes the wonder of becoming a father again. we had a name waiting that he picked out when he was a boy himself.
over the years i have come to appreciate the different kind of love a son and daughter give. feeling the boyish hugs, with tears and dirt and pockets full of muck, the reliance on how they appear in their mothers eyes. i was a bystander to this all my growing up years, being the 6th of seven children and only the second daughter. i see it now in the way my brothers protect and tease my mom, in the tender care they give her. how grateful i am that i have been blessed to experience the wonder of little boy hearts. and the challenges of raising the fathers and husbands of tomorrow.
