I've always enjoyed Mother's Day, because it is a day specifically assigned to celebrating the woman that gave you life. My mom is the perfect example of a strong, intelligent, selfless human being, so I always enjoyed having a day set aside to express how much she means to me. 

This time, however, I was able to experience Mother's Day on a personal level now that I, myself, am a mother! We began Sunday with breakfast at Chris' mom's house (which included Graham trying daddy's breakfast casserole for the first time), then followed that with brunch at my mom's place (which included introducing my mom and grandmother to snapchat filters--I would post the evidence, but I'm afraid my life would be threatened).

As the day progressed, I couldn't help but think about one day in particular: the day I became a mother.  

Giving birth to our son was an experience I couldn't possibly forget. When anyone who hasn't ever given birth asks me what it was like, it's honestly hard for me to find the words to describe it. 

One of the first things that comes to mind was how incredibly hard it was...like, real hard. I knew birthing a human being wasn't exactly going to be a cake walk, but dang. *Here is the part where I thank modern medicine for epidurals.*

We went into the hospital on the evening of Chris' 33rd birthday, July 13th. After 27 hours, five doses of Cytotec, an epidural, D5, Pitocin, and a LOT of pushing, our baby boy finally arrived at 2:25am on July 15th. 

Our lives were forever changed.

I remember almost being in disbelief when they handed him to me. He was so beautiful and bright-eyed. In fact, I remember thinking, "Wow...he is so alert!"

He had the sweetest little whimper of a cry. I had never felt such a sense of pride than I did in that moment. After carrying him for 9 months, feeling his strong and sudden kicks and turns, and pushing for what seemed like for-e-ver, he was finally here and in my arms.

Our baby boy, Graham Theodore, was not only born that night, but made our life's purpose immediately clear in an instant. Chris and I joke every now and then about how it's hard to remember life before him.

Of course we remember the freedom. The freedom to go out to dinner after a hard day of work and order cocktail after over-priced cocktail...the freedom to stay up late on the weekends and sleep in until 9:30...and the freedom to take a spontaneous trip to explore a city we hadn't been to before. 

But what we don't remember is what we felt was so "important" before him. Suddenly, everything in our lives was put into perspective, and he became the #1 priority. A bad day at work no longer owned our mind for the rest of the day and ruined our night--it was now just a bad day at work. 

They say when you become a parent, "The days are long, but the years are short." Graham is now just about 10 months old, and I can honestly say the time passes faster than I could have ever imagined. My first Mother's Day made me stop and realize this even more. 

The day ended with Chris taking me out to a delicious dinner at 801 Fish, and naturally, we talked about Graham the majority of the time. Having a nice dinner together was the perfect end to the day--not just because we love and cherish our alone time together, but because without Chris, I wouldn't have a reason to be celebrated on Mother's Day in the first place. 

Thank you to my boys for giving me a reason to celebrate every single day (Mother's Day is just a bonus). I love you both. XOXO