Was this what motherhood felt like? I wondered, glancing at their heads bent low over a game of Chutes and Ladders as Sophia helped Freya move forward five spaces. Was it this sweet ache lodged in the center of your breastbone, a powerful feeling of protection and adoration of these little people in equal parts that eclipsed all exhaustion, all inconvenience? It was boredom and panic and satisfaction and heart-melting sweetness all rolled into one. It was its own kind of bliss.
