It began on the solstice, after yoga, eating Chinese food.

The night braided with contractions and wonder.

Twenty-six tiresome hours passed before the weary nurse declared: “This baby comes on my shift!”

A breath, a push, my blue-quiet-daughter arrives. On my chest, she takes her first life-giving breath. “Hello there.”

Beth Kerr lives and writes in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. She’s chipping away at her memoir “Beyond Her: a journey surviving to thriving.”