Pound Pup Legacy

I’ve read a LOT of birth stories in this past half decade, and the one thing that always strikes me about this incredible experience of bringing our babies into the world, is how few women can sum up the experience in 1000 words. What tends to happen though, is rather than reaching into the core of how their baby’s birthing day impacted on them, we tend to hear lots of irrelevant information. The birth story becomes a narration of what was happening around the mother (midwife eating sandwich, midwife looking at clock, mother-in-law tapping the table) rather than what she was feeling, thinking, experiencing. And it strikes me that this isn’t so much about whether or not someone is a gifted writer, but the very nature of our society being about ‘external influences’. We’re simply not encouraged to look within, to search for the meaningful experiences and savour the rich moments of our lives. When the very motto of our culture is ‘acquisition’, then unless we turn our back on unnecessary consumption, we’ll find it a challenge to remember and really KNOW that less is more.  http://veronikarobinson.blogspot.com/2007/02/writers-block.html

"Less is more" is the operative statement that attracted my attention, both as a mother and as an adoptee.

I've given birth four times.  Three out of four made loud noises when they were born.  My first was dead silent when she entered this world after two hours of pushing.  She had the chord wrapped around her neck, three times.  She was dark-purple when she was born, and silence was not a sound I was expecting.  In her case, less noise, was not more joy.

My first born is thirteen now, and is watching High-School Musical 2 with her friends tonight.  In this case, less noise is more joy!

My mother's first-born has no idea where I am, and has no idea she has four grandchildren.

Less is more?

It depends on who asks, and who answers.