A friend who recently greeted her son after returning home from Afghanistan told me it was like holding them for the first time...their birthday all over again. At 4 in the morning I thought I heard the doorbell ring. I jumped out of bed thinking Steven was surprising me - maybe the Marines were coming home early to be stealthy ya know? Turns out it was just my anxiety and excitement about the day ahead. I have been awake ever since, like a woman in labor...pacing...excited...anxious...wanting the baby to hurry up already! I remember the day Steven was born and the first time I held him. They put him in my arms and his eyes popped open,(it startled me actually), and we locked our gaze on each other. He looked at me as if to say, "Oh there you are mommy". I looked at him and realized I had just been part of miracle. He made a scrunchy face that looked exactly like Doug :) I knew we were about to have a grand adventure together. As I hold my son again today, and look in his eyes, I will feel the same awe, the same relief, and the same miracle as the day he was born. I bet he might even make that scrunchy face like his dad. :)
