The Good, the Bad, and the Impossible

So one thing that you kind of know happens when you have kids, but totally don't understand the extent of, is all the growing that occurs. It starts at the very beginning when you first notice that little "baby bump" that is just "so darn cute." You're excited. You can't wait to start wearing those maternity clothes and for people to notice that "you're showing". It's proof that you are, indeed, doing the one thing on earth that NEVER gets old. You are making something amazing, therefore, you are amazing. And then, suddenly, your little "baby bump" starts getting a little bigger. And then it starts getting a lot bigger. But you stay cool... it's okay. You knew you were going to get big. And then it just keeps on growing! And suddenly, you're in your 8th month (okay, okay... you're 7th month) and you are starting to wonder how in the world things could possibly grow any more. And then... they do. They just KEEP GETTING BIGGER. Oh, and by "they", I mean EVERYTHING. Not just the belly. There are certain things that nobody warned you about, or if they did, you sure as heck either didn't listen (women who are pre-baby have a tendency to do that) or you just down right didn't believe that that would ever happen to you.

And then the baby comes. And in an attempt to keep things from getting too graphic, I'll just say that the growing doesn't exactly stop there. And while the belly sort of went away, it didn't really go away. And you patiently (or not so patiently, if you're at all a human female) wait for your body to return to "normal". As a side note, I want you all to know that I started laughing out loud after typing that last sentence. It took a LONG time after Noah was born for me to figure out a very key part of becoming a mom. NORMAL DOES NOT NOW AND NEVER WILL AGAIN EXIST. That applies to everything. Time, control, emotions, and most definitely your body. Being a mom, for me at least, means attempting to recreate normal every second of every day. But anyways, getting back to all that growing...

So there's all the physical stuff. And everyone hears about all that emotional growing that does indeed occur pretty much every day. But many people don't know that there is such a thing as the "impossible growth". Yesterday I was faced with the challenge of growing in such a way that no science or earthly power could explain. I was rocking Mr. Kermy in his room, hoping he'd fall asleep quickly so I could get Noah off to his own dream world. Noah, in turn, was in his room, and I figured he was probably enjoying the extra few minutes of play before bedtime. The next thing I know, I see Noah quietly walk up beside Mr. Kermy and I, with such a look in his eyes that could break a mothers heart. He reached up his hands and motioned for me to hold him and rock him the way I was rocking little Kermy. Here was the dilemma. And I'm sure many mothers have faced this and thought the same thing. Surely there wasn't enough room on my lap for both children. One would wake the other and there would most definitely be crying involved. I reached for Noah and the most miraculous thing occurred. I'm telling you, people, you had to see it to believe it. Right before my eyes, I watched my lap grow. Suddenly there was all of the room in the world for my boys and I knew without a doubt that there always would be.

Okay, Okay... I guess some of that growing isn't all bad...