Maria Antonette

“I love these little people; and it is not a slight thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us.”
― Charles Dickens

“Please don't wait until the doctors tell you that you are going to have a baby to begin to take care of it. It is already there. Whatever you are, whatever you do, your baby will get it. Anything you eat, any worries that are on your mind will be for him or her. Can you tell me that you cannot smile? Think of the baby, and smile for him, for her, for the future generations. Please don't tell me that a smile and your sorrow just don't go together. It's your sorrow, but what about your baby? It's not his sorrow, its not her sorrow.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace

“Marry, don't marry,' Auntie Aya says as we unfold layers of dough to make an apple strudel.

Just don't have your babies unless it's absolutely necessary.'

How do I know if it's necessary?'

She stops and stares ahead, her hands gloved in flour. 'Ask yourself, Do I want a baby or do I want to make a cake? The answer will come to you like bells ringing.' She flickers her fingers in the air by her ear. 'For me, almost always, the answer was cake.”
― Diana Abu-Jaber, The Language of Baklava: A Memoir

“Having a baby is part of a woman's life, and it is surely a great waste to be afraid of life.”
― Joan Lowery Nixon, In the Face of Danger