j-j-j-jaina!

my birthday this past january was momentous for two very important reasons. first, i was on vacation, traveling throughout the landscapes of vietnam and feeling very carefree, genuinely happy, and ALIVE. on my actual birthday, my friends jennifer, kathleen and i were on a motorbike tour where we zipped around the curvaceous dalat highland hillsides on scooters surrounded by the lush greenery of spring on the ground and the expansive clear blue sky above. it was my birthday, a day that my mom recalled to me with laughter in her voice, the day that my paternal grandmother cut my umbilical cord and fashioned my current belly button. it was my birthday and i was thankful for my life.

on that same day, my sister asked me to be attend the birth of her daughter, her first child, sometime near her expected day of arrival: march 31, 2011. she said that she'd welcome my "positive and reassuring support." i was honored to be invited to my sister's labor and delivery and until i arrived home, didn't think too much about what the actual labor and delivery would entail.

on april 5, 2011, jaina raejin taylor was born at 3:30pm, on the dot. i have never, in my life, witnessed or been a part of anything so profoundly AWESOME, intense, intimate, and fascinating. my beautiful niece has the most badass labor warrior of a mother and the nurturing unwavering support of her father.

witnessing the delivery of a baby and the post labor fatigue has instilled in me the most incredible appreciation for my mother, my grandmothers, my sister, my friends who are mothers--ALL MOTHERS!!!--and their tenacious spirit in enduring 9 months of hormonal shifts, tender parts, and a phenomenal amount of stretching.

welcome sweet jaina to our world. i already love you so much!