Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees

by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

That night might have been the first time we were feeling one another’s hands, the three of us, I mean, fingers spread wide to fit over my widened belly. I had no idea how much my hands would or could hold. I learned that a mama’s hands could hold much more than she ever dreamed she could want to. It seemed utterly impossible then that in just five more months, our baby would grip my pinky in the center of his whole hand, but it happened, again and again (how I loved it especially when he was soporific from nursing!), and now as I type this, his hands are bigger than mine and they don’t reach for mine as often these days, but some days they do, still, when no one is looking, and I can’t think on it too much or I’d weep. But back then, under thousands of stars—all six of our hands stretched wide and ready to catch a bounty of squeals, cries, and laughter headed toward us in the new year.