Kids, Oh! kids

What is it about kids that keeps us from putting them up for adoption and getting our life back? :) After I had my daughter, it's as if I have ceased to exist. My life isn't mine. Nothing is mine. Time. Space. Energy. Nothing.

And as I have come to realize the hard way, I am not the only mother who feels that way. What, then, is it that makes it worth the while? Is it the delicate kiss loaded with spit that is laid on my forehead when I sleep my worn-out sleep? Or is it the little soft hands that press my head a couple of times when it's splitting with a migraine in the hope of fixing it? Is it the naive heart that truly believes in the kiss it and fix it way of making owiees go away? Is it the soft whisper that tells me I am loved when I need it the most? Is it the feeling that washes over me every time those tiny hands wrap around my neck and 'crush' me in a bear hug? Is it the peace that I feel when I watch her smile in her sleep? Is it the innocence in her voice that asks me a million times during a one-hour flight if she is troubling me and if I am finding it difficult to 'mangage' ? Or is it the absolute earnestness in her face when she says,"Oh! We are just going to drive to Cochin, not fly?" because the plane taxies for a little longer than usual :)