Like Father Like Son

Reuben has been enjoying time with his Dad. Aaron has to go back to work tomorrow which we're very sad about. We've been enjoying our family together time up til now. Aaron has developed some pretty awesome swaddling skills. At the hospital the doctor who checked Reuben commented on how well the nurses wrapped up the babies. She didn't know that the wrap Reuben was sporting was done by his Padre.
One thing I love about Reuben is he got his Dad's crazy long feet. They're frog feet with monkey toes. When I was in college I had an assignment to draw 60 feet from life for a figure drawing class. Aaron graciously agreed to model and I completed the assignment but got in trouble because my drawings were "too long and oddly proportioned." The professor didn't realize the consequences of being too true to life. Anyway, Reuben like the good man cub he is has some feet to grow in to.

Aaron covered a lot of the labor. All I've got to say is I'm drug free and proud of Aaron and Reuben. I couldn't have done it without either of their help. And it wasn't that bad. I'm grateful for every yoga class I ever took and playing a lot of sports growing up. The pain was manageable and I never felt like I needed anything more than Aaron's and my Mom's encouragement. (I know that sounds sappy but that's how it went) Speaking of pain, here's a great Emily Dickinson poem that I think does a good job summing up the whole labor experience:

The Mystery of Pain

Pain has an element of blank;
It cannot recollect
When it began, or if it were
A day when it was not.

It has no future but itself,
Its infinite realms contain
Its past, enlightened to perceive
New periods of pain.

Especially combined with this poem which I keep thinking of over and over in regards to Reuben:

Love

Love is anterior to life;
Posterior to death,
Initial of creation,
And the exponent of breath.