alicia and rick

it began as a critical part of kai's life and was about the closest part of alicia to him. it saw everything passed through from alicia to kai, including those spicy meals of the last few days leading up to the birth. it was pulsating on each ultrasound to show us the blood flow moving back and forth. and finally it held kai to mom on that final bungie jump from the womb to the hong kong world outside.

once dr dawkins had clamped it off in the right places, i was handed the fat scissors to do the deed - to cut the ceremonial ribbon celebrating kai's entry into the outside. only the scissors weren't that sharp, or i don't have the doctor's touch, because i had to snip about 10 times before it finally cut through.

today the stump fell off - the umbilical stump, the belly button, the tube of life, etc. it had become a black and white mess in its heyday, requiring some delicate cleaning around its edges to prevent any unwanted infection. now its glory is gone, and all that is left as evidence of its once important tether is a hole - an innie.

happy mothers day to all the moms out there. for the first time i have some secondhand (i was just a witness) knowledge of what that's all about - wow.