This March I will be participating in the mont
h-long Slice of Life Challenge. Each day I will be posting a ‘slice’ from my life. This year I am using Natalie Goldberg’s book Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir to provide my sparks for memoir writing. Each post will be a quick write using one of Natalie’s exercises to practice the skill of noticing and remembering.
If you could only have one memory, what would that be? Don’t contemplate, muse, get dreamy, romantic. Dive in, let your hand flying across the page discover that single moment. Go, ten minutes. (p.219)
How do you choose just ONE memory? You don’t overthink it. Skim off whatever rises to the top first and go with it. It’s probably one of your most precious. This moment was the most intensely joyful experiences of my life. The birth of my son rivals it, but if you’ve read my other posts you’ll know that three miscarriages preceded this pregnancy. The anxiety, pain, hope, and anticipation were packed in tight like grenade. Her first cry set off the explosion of emotion like no other time in my life. I became a mother! It’s a memory that I would welcome living over and over and over.
litcoachlady 
This is such a powerful prompt…it gave me goose bumps just thinking about it and took me straight back to the birth of my daughter. It will always be my most potent memory.
Wow. This prompt will have me thinking all day!
Birthing memories are so very powerful! My deliveries did not go as planned, either–my firstborn arrived at 26 weeks after only four days of bedrest (easy delivery, not easy driving to a hospital every day for 65 days to visit her), and I was diagnosed with HELLP syndrome while in labor with my second-born. With all that happened contrary to plan with your girl, it doesn’t surprise me that this was the first memory that popped up for you!
Wow! Moms sure do go through a lot to get those little babes sometimes. I’m sure with everything you endured, that you appreciated your children even more than you could have ever imagined!
9 lbs, 13 oz…”a toddler!” Yes, your memory generates misty eyes for moms, but I love the unexpected humor and the description of yourself as almost-removed from the experience initially. You were, and are, a star performer, that’s abundantly clear.
You are so kind! We literally couldn’t use newborn or 0-3 month baby clothes with her. We still giggle about that.
Such vivid memories, Paula. A very special “small moment, indeed.” Favorite line is, of course, “9 lbs, 13 oz…a toddler!”
Haaa! That’s all I could think, ‘she’s not a newborn…she’s a toddler!’
I agree with others about the 9 lb toddler line. This is an intriguing prompt. Thank you for sharing this intimate slice with us.
Oh yes, I guess for most mums, a birth memory is the most powerful. I think it would be mine, not sure whether the first or the arrival of twins at the end would be the most significant…. I cannot imagine 48 hours of labour to only get to 3 cm, but the joy is the overwhelmingly the same…
Seems like such a short amount of time once she was in my arms. I can only imagine twin birth stories! Have you sliced about that?
I did what you said and didn’t overthink it- my one memory would be dancing and singing around the living room with my dad to Hootie and the Blowfish, Tom Petty, and Alanis Morrisette 🙂
Loved your memory- thanks for sharing ❤
Wooo! I can totally picture that. Certainly a treasured memory!!
You were so brave! Having a baby means losing control of your body, but when you have a C-Section it seems like everyone else has control of your body, too. You handled it with grace and I can see that even without the control you were immediately connected to what was important-you’re beautiful baby (toddler?!?).
I was touched by the fact that you juxtaposed the unfulfilled plan and reality. My grandmother – a very wise one indeed- told me “Honey, you can’t plan everything. “ yup she was right a thousand times over. Thanks for the slice.
I think I would have liked your grandmother!!