A New Brand(t) of Family

To the mother without a baby You know that scene in Friends where Chandler and Monica meet the mother of the baby they’d like to adopt? The biological mom finds out that Monica is not a reverend and changes her mind. Chandler runs after her and says something along the lines of, “I may one day learn how to be a dad, but Monica is already a mother. She’s a mother without a baby.” This scene makes me cry my little heart out every time I watch it because it’s something I’ve always believed. I believe a womxn who wants to be a mom, becomes one long before she sees those two blue lines; long before she holds that precious, wrinkly pink bundle. And for me, I became a “mother” when I was 7 years old. My sister, Caron, was 1. I was on all fours with her on my back, holding her pudgy little arms so tightly. I was “galloping” down our long corridor on this really bristly, hard rug with her on my back. She was laughing and squealing with glee. She had just the cutest little laugh as a b