On beauty

Before he was born, we took classes. Multiple classes. We watched videos, practiced breathing and back-massage, spoke of bathtubs and yoga balls, folded diapers in groups and practiced CPR on baby dolls. Some things can never be truly understood until you experience them. In the end, her labour thirty-seven hours from beginning to end. Thirty-seven hours. The midwife compared it to running five marathons. She was exhausted. I was exhausted. Stunned as our newborn pulled himself to the breast. Baby skin to skin as I quietly wept, and our new trio drifted from anxiety to relief.