Heart Outside My Body

A friend and I were talking today about motherhood and the love that you feel. It wells up inside of you and bursts out of every pore. She said, "It's like you have a heart outside of your body." 

How true is that!? 

My heart crawls around the house each day, laughs, cries, stares in wonder at the world around him. My heart is sleeping in his crib right now, dreaming sweet things I hope. It's crazy this love we feel. When my little man learns something new and squeals with joy, that's my joy too. When he is teething and crying in pain, that's my pain too. My friend's kids are both grown and out of the house. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "I have two hearts outside of my body." It doesn't get easier when they leave. They are still her babies. That got me thinking...

All of the joy and the heartache, pain and happiness, fear and courage, disappointments and accomplishments that our kids will feel and experience in their lives...we will feel too, but we will feel them double. One time with our heart inside our bodies and one time with our heart outside our bodies. 

When he walks for the first time, says his first word, leaves for his first day of school, aces a test, scores a goal, makes a new friend, loses a friend, makes an honorable but difficult choice, learns to drive, feels heartbreak, succumbs to peer pressure, rises above the pack, receives a college acceptance letter, leaves home (pause...deep breath...SO not ready for that day yet), finds love, marries, gives me grandkids...all of these milestones and SO many  more...we as his parents will feel what he feels. We'll stand by him, supporting him through thick and thin. 

Can my heart handle all of this? I'm sure there will be times where I'll think that it can't.

Guess that's why I have two...one inside my body and one outside my body.