I didn't understand.

(iphone) 1 week before Noah decided to make me miss Thanksgiving dinner :)

I know there are many, many people who yearn so desperately to be parents. There are those who don't want that lifestyle. I, personally, always wanted to be a mother. Before Noah was born, all I knew of parenting was from the one-sided view of a child and being friends with other children who had parents. And I've only been a mother for 157 days so I definitely have a long way to go before I will even begin to think I have experience at all.

Before Noah, I didn't quite fully understand what people meant. 

I didn't understand when they said having a child is like letting a piece of your heart walk around outside your body. 

I didn't understand when they said baby things would take over your home and you won't really even care. 

I didn't understand when they said watching their child grow each day and learn a new skill was so much fun. 

I didn't understand when they said they stayed up late at night many times pouring over old photos of their child.

I didn't understand when they said this was the hardest thing they would ever do. And the best. 

I didn't understand when they said it is the biggest sacrifice they have ever made. 

I didn't understand when they said a part of them would never stop worrying. 

I didn't understand when they said they would do ANYTHING for their child. 

I didn't understand when they said it physically pained them to see their child hurt or crying. 

I didn't understand when they said pregnancy was one of the greatest experiences in the world (even with a bad pregnancy). 

I didn't understand when they said the best day of their life was when their child was born. 

I didn't understand when they said meeting their baby was like meeting someone they've always known. 

I didn't understand when they talked about the incredible amount of joy you feel.  

I didn't understand when they talked about putting their child to bed and then missing them afterwards. 

I didn't understand when they said they loved their spouse so much more after having a child. 

I didn't understand what it meant to have a child. 

I didn't understand what it meant to be a parent. 

I didn't understand what it meant to be a mother.

But now I do.