Thanks Katrina, I appreciate your support. I do have my days when I look in the mirror or look at myself in a photo and think "who the heck is this?" But it took us two years of soul-searching to decide to have children, and another year of trying to make it happen. So I guess I have a different perspective than a woman for who pregnancy was a surprise. It came at the right time too. I had almost given up hope and the monthly tests were becoming somewhat of a charade. Then one night we went out clubbing and were surrounded by people much younger than us, we had an okay time but I went home thinking, "I've had my fill of this scene and am really ready to do something else" and the next morning found out I was pregnant. So it was perfect timing. I might have taken longer than other women, but this baby came when I was ready for the changes he is about to bring. I am lucky, not every woman is so lucky to have that timing.

Funny thing is I thought, after all my years of yoga study that I should be a liberated and complete person, one who has her whole spirituality figured out, before I have a child. Now I realize that having that expectation and attachment to liberation is not only against the very teachings of yoga, but also was causing me to put up huge and unnecessary roadblocks. The best I can offer my child is that we can explore and learn together and in a way I like that better than approaching it as the supreme guru who has all the answers.

Yes, Charles you are quite right, the digital environment can only offer a tiny sliver of who a person really is! I have to keep that in mind myself. Thanks for reminding me and all of us about that very critical point.