Patiently Waiting....

I guess I will not be getting any sleep tonight. Jenn called to tell me her water broke and they are on the way to the hospital. Baby "R" will be making her way into the world in a few hours. So here I am blogging to keep from pacing in excitement! You two will be fantastic parents.

Many years ago I found an incredible poem about childbirth. It is a poem I have never forgotten. Powerful...grab the tissues.

“A Child's Birth”

You learn a lot about living when a child is born.

You learn that pain can overwhelm and overtake and you wonder how your own mother survived.

You clench your fists and tear the sheets as life, entering life, tears your flesh.

And the moment you hold that tiny miracle, your heart rips open in a way you never knew before.

Your flesh will heal in time. You lie bleeding, not your flesh so much as your soul.

You know that every minute of every hour of every day you will be consumed with love.

And fear is the unwelcome guest that will ride upon love's new wings.

You touch your now-empty belly and mourn the life you once had all to yourself.

You hold this life, naked flesh to naked flesh. Nurse them to your breast,
rejoice that you can still provide what they need to survive....

You close your eyes and clutch their tiny fingers as they form to yours.

And in your heart you know that one day they will not be yours to hold
and you feel the tearing of your soul go even deeper.....

And again you wonder how your own mother survived.

How her sanity remained when her child was no more......

You learn a lot about living when a child is born.

— A poem by Delilah