Friends

A good friend from Old City returned my call today. I was so happy to hear from her.

We worked at the same school in Old City. We were even hired on the same day. She met #1 Son when he was only a few weeks old and was one of the few people that would come to our apartment to visit us. I often told #1 Son that I'm sure that she came to see him more than she came to see the grown ups.

She recently had her first child. I talked to her on the phone the weekend that before her son was born, I talked to her while she was still in the hospital and I just received his birth announcement. I'm sad that I haven't been able to hold her little baby or be there with her during these really rough first few weeks.

The first six months with a new baby are so tough. You are awake all day long, feeding this thing that commands you by crying. It throws up on you, yells at you and stinks. No one really talks about that part of motherhood.

I try to be very honest about that part when I talk to woman that are just starting to have children. It's hard.

I wish that more woman would be honest about it. We have made progress in so many ways. We are finally talking about things that happen to us that even my mother's generation did not. But this mystic about motherhood is still there. We need to be honest so woman do not go through this alone.

It's hard. It's really hard but it's also so wonderful.