A Mom and Her Cup

She brings him a bottle every morning. Laying it right between our sleeping forms. I hear her as she pads into my room, presenting her prize like an offering to a tiny god. I never hear her leave, never hear her walk pass in the first place. She tries to be silent, to not wake us. I pretend to still be asleep, spooning the tiny body to my left as he stirs lightly. She brings him a bottle at 7:30 am, every day without fail. It's a simple gesture that says, "I know what you need." A simple reminder that she understands his routine. And when he awakens he reaches for it, so naturally, so expectantly. One small hand curling upward, between our forms, grasping the warm, full bottle. It's a simple gesture that says, "I know you didn't forget." A simple reminder that says he trusts her to respect his routine. She brings him a bottle but always leaves it closed - just in case , so he taps my eyelids, waking me. Without opening my eyes I remove the lid a

When I found out I was pregnant, I was shellshocked. Not shocked by the pregnancy but shocked by the reality of the situation. I was in my second year of university, dealing with very many personal issues and certain I didn't want children. I was sure I was pregnant before I did the test and even more certain that the confirmation would be too much for me to handle. So much so, actually, that I did the test right before my therapy session so I could immediately unload on my therapist. One little line, one small marking that completely changed my life, my identity, my purpose. We often hear moms saying that they don't want to be boxed in as 'just a mom', and as one such mom, I fully agree. But here's the fact: 'mom' is so big a role, so encompassing a responsibility, that it in so many ways overshadow any other label we previously had. Honestly, for a while, it felt as much like a diagnosis as it did a title. I couldn't simply go to the pharmacist a