There Was Love
I was born deaf, but it wasn't discovered until months later.
Looking at photographs from those early days, I sometimes wonder what my parents were thinking.
They were holding a baby they loved completely.
A baby who looked healthy, content, and full of possibility.
At that point, they didn't yet know what lay ahead.
They didn't know the appointments, the questions, the learning curve, or the changes that would come.
They were still living in the space between knowing and not knowing.
And yet, when I look at photographs like this, that's not what I notice first.
I notice the love.
The closeness.
The way families keep moving forward, even when they don't yet have all the answers.
Sometimes I think about how much was still unknown in that moment.
But I also think about how much was already there.
Before understanding.
Before labels.
Before anyone knew what the future would hold.
There was love.
And that mattered too.
