Phase two:

So I've been pregnant, nursing, or caring for multiple toddlers for the past 9 years.
It's been a wonderful part of my life...watching one of my close friends go through it for the first time brings back memories.
That first positive pregnancy test.
The first time we told everyone.
Watching my belly grow.
Counting the days.
Reading anything I could get my hands on.
Worrying that my child would be deformed because I could only stomach fried foods.
The next three were just as special and exciting and surprising.
Growing a life is always a unique experience.
And watching these little ones grow has been no less surprising and unique.
As funny as it may sound, I love to pile them into my mini-van and they're all strapped in safely, and we're listening to music, and I catch glimpses of my children in my rear-view mirror.
They are wonders to me.

But they are growing, they are becoming more independent. Half of them can use the toilet without any help at all.
75% of them are attending a school of some sort for at least 2 days a week.
My baby has her first friend. Ruby.
And when all the stars align...when my four year old is in preschool and the other two are in grade school, Ruby's mom and I trade babies.
Ruby's mom goes to her class on Mondays.
I had the delicious delight of going back to my Yoga class this Wednesday.
I savored it, people. I drank it in as a woman who had been thirsty for years.
It's been 2 years since my last yoga class. But this time was even better. This time it was at 9:30 in the morning! A time usually spend playing puzzles or reading books, or doing the menial labor a mother must do to keep her house in some semblance of order.
It was wonderful. It was liberating. And during that first sun salutation I realized that my life was beginning to change. I was no longer that "young mom." I am a seasoned veteran. It's something I'm very proud of. I have wanted motherhood more than any other career this world has to offer. I'm good at what I do. I'm blessed to have been able to bear four healthy children.
But I'm on to phase two.
Phase two is the rearing of the brood, but this includes more time for me.
I'm dancing again, I'm practicing yoga again, and it feels so good saying hello to my body again.