transformed

I went to visit a very dear friend of mine yesterday who now has a four week old son. She had this amazing look about her, something that at the time, I couldn't seem to find the word for. She looked beautiful, radiant and some how different. The word I realized later to describe her was Transformed.

I have had the privilege of knowing this amazing woman as a colleague, a friend, a care provider, seeing her marry her amazing husband and now as a mother. This transformation that she has undergone is something so beautiful, something to be truly celebrated. It is something that happens to every woman when she crosses the threshold of labour and is born as a mother. It is that glow that comes from going into the deepest, darkest depths of labour and coming out on the other side, full of light and love.

I love this picture, the look on her face as she looks upon a child that she had no idea she could love that much. This amazing smile that she has of accomplishment, gratitude and peace. That's what experiencing birth as a rite of passage is all about; seeing how hard it is, how it challenges all you thought you knew about giving birth, allowing it to bring you to a raw and beautiful place, to a place of transformation.