Sleepless nights

Whenever I can't fall back asleep in the middle of the night, I often think about the days I became a mother for the first and second time. I close my eyes and imagine being in the Hualong International Building, a high-rise housing the Jiangxi Province Center for Adoption Services--on the 26th floor--in Nanchang, China, on Jan. 30, 2007. I remember seeing Athena for the first time and crying as she was placed in my arms.
I also think back to July 30, 2007, when Kallista was born. I held her and cried too, this time in the Highland Park Hospital. I remember being shocked that she was born on the 6-month anniversary of the day we adopted Athena. I'm not sure if all moms re-live the day they became parents, but I find such comfort in these memories. It's ironic that the two little girls who gave me sleepless nights in the beginning are the ones who help me return to Snoozy Snooze Land.