There's No Place Like...Oz

It has been a year since Philip and I told our family that we were going to be adding to the family. We didn't know our little baby would be Ridley. We didn't know what adding a baby into our lives really meant. But we knew we were excited. We knew it would be interesting.
I could never have imagined Ridley up. My wildest, most hopeful imaginings of her are nothing compared to the real thing. She is so incredibly a combination of Phil and me and yet so uniquely herself all at the same time. Although I know she has many more years to show me who she will one day become, I can already see she is mostly uniquely herself. The very first thing I said when I laid eyes on her gorgeous face was, "She doesn't look like Phil or me. She looks like Ridley!" In those first few moments with her, her appearance was all I had to go on. I've certainly gained more to go on by now, almost four months later.
I've never experienced anything in my life more challenging than becoming a mother (such a cliche yet so so SO true). Having a baby took my life and everything I thought I knew and flipped it upside down. I felt like I'd walked into a tornado and found myself on the other side in an unknown location, trying to find my way, get my barrings. I was so grateful to other mothers who knew what I was going through and who offered support, guidance, perspective and/or just their company.
I may have found the early days of motherhood to be difficult, but being Ridley's mom is so incredibly rewarding. To know Ridley and to watch her personality shape and grow is to feel my world get bigger. To watch her eyes light up when she sees me, to hear her little voice growing, to smell her sweet scent and to feel her soft skin is to discover where the tornado dropped me off. I'm in Oz, but it's my new home. Judy Garland would agree: there's no place like it.