It's my birthday

In honor of my birthday, I'd like to share a quote I read yesterday in a book about food, of all places.

"In The Big Book of Birth, Erica Lyon is equally direct. 'When we give birth for the first time, there is a death. Immediate and sudden.' Now I understand. Motherhood changes you. Your body is never the same. Your time is not your own...When your baby is born, of course, there is a great lurch in identity. One day you're 'just' pregnant, almost like any other citizen without kids. The next day, you're a Mother."

-from Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck

I initially took umbrage when people told me that once I had the baby I would become eclipsed by her and just be "so-and-so's mom" rather than Jordan. But, I have been profoundly changed by becoming a mom, and there is a new version of me because of her. So here's to my first birthday as my new self. A slightly more selfless, drastically sleepier, and completely abounding with love self.

I am so blessed, and each year I feel richer. May your day be as joyfilled as mine!