Last week I left a comment on a friend's post calling her passion for a project she worked 10 years to get made a "labor of love." It got me thinking about that phrase and what it really means to me. (Sidenote: go see the movie "The Good Lie" and cheer for Margaret Nagle in the credits because she is awesome and is having an amazing year because of hard work and dedication to stories she believes in.)
Having now gone through childbirth, I feel like I understand more of what this means. When Cameron was born, it all happened really quickly…well, not the labor part, but the decision to induce and rushing to the hospital, etc. I didn't even really get a chance to think about anything until I was all checked in and hooked up and just waiting for things to start happening. 23 hours of labor, 1 hour of pushing (literally 60 minutes on the dot) later, there was Cameron! I was happy to have a natural delivery. I felt strong and accomplished afterwards but also sad since I did not get to hold Cameron for another 3 1/2 hours. Longest 210 minutes of my life. All I had done was touch her tiny foot and her little hand before they rolled her away to the NICU. Anyway….
I started thinking about adoption. And about surrogacy. Talk about labors of love. Without love for the little one coming and for the potential parents of those babies, I don't know how anyone would get through labor. It must be so emotionally difficult when the gift on the other end is being given to someone else. Pretty amazing. Such a strong choice to make.
Motherhood as a "job" is definitely a labor of love. Some days you kind of feel like you need to talk to someone in management about the pay, but then you realize there is no one there but you…;). On a long day, I find myself flopping into bed completely wiped out. On a good day, I find myself doing the same thing. This season is go-go-go but at the same time, I love this age! Every day she says new words and discovers something exciting around her she has never noticed before. It is incredible, remarkable. I'm so glad that I get to be a part of it every single day.
Having now gone through childbirth, I feel like I understand more of what this means. When Cameron was born, it all happened really quickly…well, not the labor part, but the decision to induce and rushing to the hospital, etc. I didn't even really get a chance to think about anything until I was all checked in and hooked up and just waiting for things to start happening. 23 hours of labor, 1 hour of pushing (literally 60 minutes on the dot) later, there was Cameron! I was happy to have a natural delivery. I felt strong and accomplished afterwards but also sad since I did not get to hold Cameron for another 3 1/2 hours. Longest 210 minutes of my life. All I had done was touch her tiny foot and her little hand before they rolled her away to the NICU. Anyway….
I started thinking about adoption. And about surrogacy. Talk about labors of love. Without love for the little one coming and for the potential parents of those babies, I don't know how anyone would get through labor. It must be so emotionally difficult when the gift on the other end is being given to someone else. Pretty amazing. Such a strong choice to make.
Motherhood as a "job" is definitely a labor of love. Some days you kind of feel like you need to talk to someone in management about the pay, but then you realize there is no one there but you…;). On a long day, I find myself flopping into bed completely wiped out. On a good day, I find myself doing the same thing. This season is go-go-go but at the same time, I love this age! Every day she says new words and discovers something exciting around her she has never noticed before. It is incredible, remarkable. I'm so glad that I get to be a part of it every single day.
There are times I miss those early days when we just cuddled a lot, but hearing the shout of "MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMMY!" in the morning and walking in to the mayhem of all the animals thrown to the floor and that cutie pie running back and forth excitedly in her crib is pretty awesome too.
So for now, I'm going to keep on laboring and keep on loving because that is really all she needs.
So for now, I'm going to keep on laboring and keep on loving because that is really all she needs.