September is NICU Awareness Month
The thing about trauma is that the further removed you are in time from it, the less painful it becomes. Yes, there may be some triggers that will bring you to your knees or force you to hide and breathe in the tears that threaten. But for the most part, years of separation from those events lessen the emotional weight you carry. *Though, I realize this may not be true for all traumas. ...what happens when it's associated with your children? You can't shove the feelings. You can't hide from the tears. You can only hold onto the moments of pain and in one breath, try as hard as you can to let it go. Every year, I remember the smells and sounds of the NICU. I remember their little incubators and only being allowed to touch and not hold my babies in my arms. Every year, I have tears for all that what-ifs. And every day of that year, I hug my children as tightly as I can. The memories are us. We are who we are today because of them. Our beginnings start at the pa...