Love

"Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within the reach of every hand" -Mother Theresa

I have encountered love in a completely different way this year.

People said things to me before I had Maeve, like You've never felt this way about anyone before, or You'll never believe how much your heart grows when you have a baby.  I didn't know how exactly I would feel when they handed her to me for the first time.  It's one of those experiences that if you haven't had it, you just can't conceive of what it's like. 

My heart, though, has been completely taken.  Maeve changed how I think about what love really is.  I had never felt this powerful, protective, overwhelming, all-consuming thing before.  I would literally lay down in traffic for her.  There's a reason you don't mess with a momma animal - we'll freakin' kill you to save our babies.

And loving my husband has become different, too, as I see him becoming a Daddy.  His patience, no-depths-are-too low silliness, total willingness to get wet, dirty, smelly, and exhausted, and kindness and patience with me... all of those things make me fall in love with him all over again. And it's a love mixed with gratitude and admiration, inseparable by now.

Family love is so different from romantic love, it's a whole new world for me, and I just love it here.  Not that I never experienced the love of my family, but having a family of my own is totally different.  It's as strong and inescapable, I think, as gravity.  And sweeter than anything I have ever tasted.

(past entries on love: Romance; Doctor)

Maeve's Valentine's oatmeal

My funny Valentine