Best Rush of 2009

It looks like these topics are going to be revolving around the pregnancy and birth of my son or my job. There are just too many moments from 2009 from those two categories that rank as bests, I suppose.

“Rush”: noun a sudden feeling of intense pleasure or euphoria

The moment my baby was placed on my belly, wriggling and confused at the cooler, brighter, airier surroundings, all pain and discomfort instantly faded away. I was aware of the profound accomplishment that childbirth instills upon a woman. I was amazed that my body had completed the greatest biological task — after all, we are biologically meant only to be born, grow, procreate, care for our offspring, age, and die. All else is secondary and manufactured simply by our inate human desires to occupy that time with other activities. I was in awe of the vernix-coated baby staring up at me. Love at first sight — perhaps this is not a true feeling that happens between two partners, but it certainly was a true feeling for this mother when she saw her baby. I examined the creases and folds in his skin. I marveled at the full head of hair. His tiny little pinky nails seemed barely existent. This small baby boy was the final addition to our family. Nothing else really mattered at that moment. The only important things were that he and I were both alive to live that blissful first moment of mother and child as two distinctly separate entities. He and I were no longer separated visually by my flesh, yet he and I were still connected by the cord for the last moment or two. (I was so in the moment that I didn’t really notice Brian cutting the cord with Debbie’s directions.) I pulled him closer to me, cuddling him to keep him warm and to assure him that he was loved and treasured. No feeling could ever compare to such a beautiful moment. That rush must be the reason why the Duggars keep having children (mind you, I do not have the patience or desire to raise that many children — three is my limit, thank you).