During the infant massage instructor training that I attended, the trainer began the course by talking about how you meet people for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. The other women in the training were incredible and inspiring and I hope that someday our paths will cross again. We all exchanged contact information and promised to let each other know if we ever ended up in each others’ home countries, which ranged from the Czech Republic to United Arab Emirates. I still don’t know if I met them for a reason, a season, or a lifetime, but regardless, I’m thankful that I did.
Over the last week, I have helped in two deliveries and have been thinking about how and why we meet people. Here at the birthing center, helping in a delivery is not a small thing. Natural labor is long and painful and to accompany a family through that journey is a really intimate experience. I spent almost forty hours with one woman and her husband, and about fifteen with another woman, her husband, and her mother. Those hours are some of the most vulnerable of a woman’s, and often her entire support system’s, and you tend to get to know each other pretty quickly. When the baby finally comes, there often aren’t many dry eyes in the room. That said, it is a bit weird saying goodbye to a new family after spending so much time with them, with the knowledge that I will most likely never see them again. From each family that I’ve worked with, I’ve learned so much and grown as a healthcare professional and as a person.
I’ve also been thinking about leaving the birthing center and the entire incredible staff, who has taught me so much. It will be really hard to leave and I am endlessly thankful for all of the time they have poured into me. That said, I definitely feel like I will be back in India someday. I don’t know how or why yet, but I do have a feeling I’ll be back.