My daughters are in their 40s now. Grown, married, one had The Magical Creatures for me to dote on. But - ah yes - the But. After she went to college my daughter gave me an Anne Geddes photo. I returned it to her with the birth of her first daughter. It was a baby (of, course) and had this quote on it: “Making the decision to have a child - it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ” ― Elizabeth Stone

That is how motherhood always felt to me. Like my heart - my whole heart - was no longer in my chest.