Then, against all odds, it happened. Two blue lines on a plastic stick. The pregnancy was a tightrope walk of anxiety and hope, but with every ultrasound, Luna’s heartbeat was a strong, defiant drumbeat, telling the world she was coming.

She arrived after seventeen hours of labor, red-faced and perfect, with a full head of black hair and the biggest hazel eyes I had ever seen. The moment they placed her in my arms, the world outside fell away. Caleb cried harder than I did, his whispers of “She’s perfect” a soothing balm on my exhausted soul.