The other night, Azriel and I were lying in bed together before he fell asleep. He was looking directly into my eyes, and I into his, and the world stopped for a brief moment.

At that moment, I saw the entire world in his eyes. He spoke his life to me, his hopes, his dreams, his expectations. And I listened.

I listened to the beating of his little heart and the gurgling of his sips. I felt the warmth of his tiny fingers wrapped in mine and the cuddle of his body against my skin. I saw the dreamy blue of his never-ending eyes and the wisps of eye lashes as they grew heavy. I smelled the lavender of his bath soap and the milky promise of his rosy, clean cheeks.

In that moment, there was no other world, nothing else mattered. In that moment, there was just a mother and a baby sharing love and trust together in a world they had created.

And that moment – that one brief moment – was truly what life is all about.