These Hands

I've always disliked the way that my hands look. Short fat fingers, a pudgy thumb base in my palm, and of course gross nails bit as close to the cuticle as possible.

My view on my hands has taken a dramatic turn. Tonight as I leaned over the edge of the crib and calmed my crying child with just the simple touch through his hair, I took a good look at my hands and thought about how incredible they really are. I use them for numerous tasks every single day.

• Taking foreign objects out of Miles' mouth
• Signing to Miles so he learns to communicate
• Picking my son up
• Cradling him as he nurses late at night or early in the morning. 

The list could continue for ever. My point is, I never thought of my hands as the "mother" type of hands. But as I stroked Miles' head trying to calm him back to sleep, I noticed that my fingers were slighter than they used to be. My nails are long and healthy after a few years of letting them grow without my teeth destroying them. My hands may not be "dainty" however they are strong in only a way that becoming a mom could have made me realize.