...before I let the "mommy identity" post head off into the eventual archives.

I so appreciate all your comments & emails about my last post. It's good to know that I'm not alone in all of this craziness known as "mommyhood." And I am also so very thankful that I live in the internet age, where I have such close contact with so many people who can validate my feelings...or give me new perspective on things, if it is so warranted.

To wrap up -

My most recent commenter on the post is "Aunt" Rachel -- someone that I don't personally know, but someone that I wanted to thank for her comment. She said:

(I) Wanted to say that just as "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", I think even those times you haven't felt like a "Mommy", your son has felt "Mommy" there. You're HIS mommy & he trusts you whole-heartedly. And just as you remember feeling your mother's love so strongly those moments where you needed her most (like in the middle of the night), your son HAS THAT. So even if you're not feeling like "Mommy" yet, your son feels it. He thinks you're the most wonderful, most caring person in the world! You're his hero! And when he grows up, he'll remember those moments where you woke him up in the middle of the night to give him medicine when he was sick. And even if you think someone else is doing it better, know that your son wouldn't trade you in for anyone else in the world. You've already earned the title "Mommy" in his eyes!

The reason I wanted to thank you, Rachel, for this comment is that it says exactly what I am hoping for. In fact, I had begun trying to articulate this very hope in my previous post...I just couldn't get it into words. I think that you summed it up and - for me - brought a good "closure" to my thoughts. I hope & pray that - even though I do feel like I'm not all there sometimes - Iliya will be confident in me as a mother, and have great memories of me, as I do of my own mother.

So thanks again to all of you...I may just have the best readership in the world!

In other news, 6 months ago, late tonight, we deplaned and Iliya met his extended family for the first time. Here are some fun pictures that you've seen before, but are still fun to look at:

If you were there...can you believe that this night was 6 months ago? In a way, it seems forever ago...and in another way, it seems so...yesterday. Hard to believe so much time has passed. When I think of this little guy I held in my arms that night...and then think of all he had experienced already in a short 3-week span...and then think of all he has experienced, since then, in 6 short months, my heart simply bursts with amazement and love.