I tried to slow it down

On Motherhood: I was too caught up in counting your weeks that I forgot to count my years.

Time feels different now. Months in their whole parts have slipped by.

Or maybe it’s my memory that’s slipping. 

I can barely remember a time when the only heartbeat inside of me was my own.

A time when I’d touch my stomach and it was quiet and still. Now, a tiny being reaches out, pressing back against my palm.

“I’m here, buddy,” I say. “I will always be h…