I’ve been thinking lately about what it was like giving birth. My first labor (with twins) was many years ago. I know it lasted 36 hours and that I was conscious for most of the time. I vividly remember the bed, the room, and the sound of an IV dripping and the sad faces of those who visited knowing that the twins were coming too early.

The second time, about 6 years later, the labor was shorter—just about 8 hours I think. I know it was pretty frightening. I remember the worried look of the doctor and the run down the hall for an emergency c section. I remember shaking in the recovery room. I remember looking at the amazing babies with tiny fingers and toes and laughing and crying. But, I can’t remember the feeling of the pain.

Some of our regular readers might know that we took about 6 weeks off blogging. We were overwhelmed by giving birth to a book. During the labor we struggled to complete this huge project. At any one time during the day one of us would say things like, “This is horrible,” or “I can’t stand the pain,” or “Never again,” or “Why did we ever agree to do this project?”

We spent hours thinking of our next careers. Open a coffee shop or vineyard. Maybe  sell watermelons, stacks of firewood, and pinion nuts on the side of the road. No more books. No more writing. Why suffer through all of that pain?

But, now the book is done, the edits are completed. In a couple of months we’ll get a delivery at our house.  The labor of nine months (really) will be complete. Looking at that unopened box of books, we’ll be frightened. Will every thing be okay? Then, we’ll tear open the box and pick up a few brand new shiny copies.  Thumbing through, we’ll make sure that all of the parts are there, the icons, the sidebars, and grin with wonder and joy at what we created (with lots of help from our wonderful editors). Immediately, we’ll forget the pain and discomfort like all good authors and mothers do. And wonder, what’s next?

Photo by mahalie, available under a Creative Commons attribution non-commercial license.

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    Last reviewed: 29 Nov 2010