a year

i woke up this morning to the sound of m waking up.
for the past year my body has been irreversibly linked to hers, waking when she wakes, sometimes a moment before in anticipation.

exactly a year ago today little m entered this world
a year ago that i was pregnant and ready and not ready for everything to begin.

someone recently asked me, "so, has your life changed since having a kid?" and i laughed.
it feels like a different life altogether.

we will celebrate m's birthday today. the day that her life began, along with this new one of ours.

*photo credit gianluca vassallo