A Year Ago...

A year ago today, at right about this time, the induction process was started to bring my beautiful little daughter into this world...and what a PROCESS it was. Little did I know at that time that it would take well over 24 hours of labor before I would finally get the reward of meeting my little girl. I was telling Aaron this morning that mothers always say, "You forget about the pain of labor and delivery," and let me tell you, "I have NOT forgotten." But another thing that all mothers say is, "It's all worth it," and I can completely agree with that. Those 30-some hours of labor, pushing, etc. were the most challenging and difficult hours of my life, but I can defintely say that having Mara in my life is more than worth what I went through. I am in no hurry to embark on labor and delivery again any time soon (or pregnancy for that matter since that was no piece of cake for me either) but at least I know now that every bit of discomfort is completely worth it when you can look back a year later and marvel that you made it through all of that and have this amazing little person to love for the rest of your life as a result. A friend at church today said that on your first child's first birthday you reflect back on the experience of their actual "birth day" like no other, and I have a feeling she is right. I keep having flashbacks of moments in the hospital, the wonderful people that helped me through (like Aaron, mom, Carol, nurse Misty), the ones that made it more difficult like nurse "Nazi" (the nurse that Carol and I both wanted to hit...remember her Carol?!,) but most of all, I keep thinking back to how amazing it was to know that Aaron and I created this precious, beautiful little baby and that somehow, through all of it, I was able to bring her into this world, healthy. Thank you God for this wonderful blessing you have given to us.