On An Occasional Thanksgiving Blog Post

(Happy Turkey Day, Ya'll.)

While this is not quite the return of (my) blog posts just yet (as I'm still on the fence of who, what, where, when and how to resume my regular writing), I figured a momentary shout out was long overdue, and the Thanksgiving holiday as perfect an excuse as any.

So here I am; let's start with the obvious.

People ask what it's like and while my first instinct is to tell them that words simply do not exist to describe what it means to become a mother, let me meagerly (and, perhaps, dramatically) give it a good ol' try.

Yesterday, a friend from over a decade ago (and fellow parent) wrote me an email describing a sentimental yet brief moment with his (pre-adolescent) son, epitomizing the fleeting innocence of [his son's] youth and the humbleness of this profound life change, in which he (my friend) expressed a desire to stop time.  That, in my limited opinion, is parenthood.

Let me explain. Becoming a mother encompasses a series of moments-day after night after day, be it first thing in the morning or the middle of the night, bags under eyes, skin and nails unkempt-in which time has (all of a sudden and in a fairly incomprehensible way) taken on a value that can only be epitomized by a desire to capture it forever in a stillness or pause that is physically impossible.  And these moments keep coming, right when your bones are on the brink of exploding with emotion, your futile attempt to hit the theoretical pause button, once again, creeps up again..and again and again.  For these brief seconds, everything else in the world ceases to exist.

And when it passes, the rest of the (real) world returns, and on holidays devoted to acknowledging (our) gratitude, I'm both curious what my readers are thankful for while making my own mental list alongside (and in obvious addition to) parenthood.  I include but do not limit my items to:

visits from family
friends who are
falling in love
writing vows
finding jobs
making (hard) decisions
decorating (new) homes
Christmas trees
and interfaith toppers
office potlucks
home-cooked meals
red wine
thank you notes
(first) visits from Santa
firsts, in general
and the simultaneously
overwhelming and excruciating
inability to
stop time.

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