thoughts on having an infant

On Sunday, on my way in to church, a young woman I know saw me in the parking lot and asked how life was going with a new baby.

I replied, "Oh, it's so great!"

Jo smiled and seemed a bit surprised: "It's so good to hear you say that.  Usually people just say they're exhausted by it all."

I've been thinking about that some since Sunday.

Yes, I am tired.  Usually Nell wakes up every two to three hours in the night and needs to be fed and/or changed.  Since I'm the milk maid around here, Nathan sleeps while I get up with our daughter.  And I'll admit that sometimes I feel like I'm being pulled from my sleep with reluctance when I hear her cries.  There's a moment when I'm thinking, Nooooo... I don't want to wake up again.  

But as soon as I'm awake, I look down at her sweet little face, and suddenly I don't mind it so much.

And that's when I whisper to my girl, every single night, "How did I get so lucky?"

And I really do mean it.