I took my son to the park. And I made a new friend.
Funny the way things work sometimes. I was pregnant and heavy and hot and tired. I had planned to take my energetic 3-year-old to the park where he could run and play and I could just sit. And work on my Bible study that I had woefully neglected.
But then this other mom started talking to me, and I had to set down my book and talk to her. At first I was a little annoyed that I wasn’t getting anything done, but by the end of the hour, we were exchanging numbers and planning to get our boys together again. And my soul was refreshed.
And then we actually called/texted and set up another playdate. And I got to know this beautiful soul who always gets up with a smile no matter how many times life knocks her down.
Then, she brought me a meal after I had my newborn baby. She was early in her pregnancy and sick, but she cooked me a meal anyway. Wow.
I think of all the times we could have said no. No to putting down the study. No to another playdate. No to making dinner for someone else when you’re ready to puke yourself.
But every time, we both chose to say yes.
And out of those yesses came a beautiful friendship, opportunities to stand by and hold up a friend when she’s ready to collapse. I think both of us have done that for each other, and I’m so very, very grateful.
And then, when the time came to welcome Ella Grace into the world, I had the incredible privilege of being there through the whole process. It was hands down one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced, and being new to birth photography, I struggled to portray all the beauty and emotion of those moments in pictures. Dad was deployed at the time, and was only able to join us via FaceTime. Wow, what a sacrifice. Thank you suddenly seems trite.
It was long. It was hard (for her, not me – staying up all night is nothing when you’re beside a woman doing the most intense, painful, transcendent work a human being can do – bringing another life into the world). And then, the miracle of that first breath, the sweet relief that it’s over, she’s here, she’s breathing and crying and then quieting as she snuggles right in to mommy’s chest.
Welcome, Ella Grace. Thank you for letting me be your birth photographer!
Nicole is a Wilmington, NC birth photographer, also specializing in custom lifestyle family and newborn photography. Serving Wilmington, Camp Lejeune, and surrounding areas.