so, what’s it like to be a mom after so many years of yearning?  Today, it sort of feels like when you live far away from family or loved ones and you miss them for so much of the year and you get so excited when you get to go visit them and you can’t wait to be there and you’re impatient for the whole trip (well, actually, you’re impatient during all of the preparation and packing for the trip too) and when you finally arrive there are hugs and kisses and smiles and joy that you’ve finally arrived and then suddenly, easily… you relax into the familiarity.  it’s like you were never apart.  Here are the same ol’ people in their same ol’ places living their wonderfully ordinary lives.  They were here all along and now, having arrived after your long journey, the trip doesn’t seem like it was that long after all–just a few hours, really.  Yes, it was a grueling trip and yes, there were very difficult parts (okay, that’s probably more true with the infertility journey than just driving across a few states, but stick with me here), but now, suddenly, you’re here, just where you’re supposed to be and the hardships of the process of getting here fade just a little bit behind your wide smile and a big-hearted feeling of contentment.