She sat on her patio in the moonlight with two candles burning a distinct fragrance of vanilla. The smell was seductive and alluring each time she took a breath as the gentle breeze blew on a warm summer night. But, this was no ordinary summer night. This was her time to allow the world to stop for at least 30 minutes to take some time to reflect. As she sat outside in her soft, terrycloth robe with her hair slightly wet after soaking in a Calgon-enriched bathtub, her mind began to wander.

It began with her childhood, she vividly remembered a dilapidated house with a woman that resembled the '50s style iconoclastic view of what a housewife should look like. The mother was baking a homemade apple pie as she gazed out the window with a smile so bright and luminous. The pie came out of the oven and was set out on the window sill to cool as she played. The engaging smell of apple and cinnamon flew through the air as it beckoned her to come inside only to be greeted by the mother with an embrace. The mother's perfume, a hint of jasmine, was just enough to make her remember how she smelled on that certain day. A smell so unique that she knew at that particular moment, she was a little girl in her mother's arms. So innocent. . .

Next, her mind began to wander to her wedding day. As she went through the ritual of something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, she remembered her mother helping her get ready. The tears that they shed as mother realized her little girl was growing up ' the sudden realization that now she has to let her child go and become a woman. The warm embrace they share as the daughter again remembered that intoxicatingly sweet smell of jasmine her mother wore. At that particular moment, it gave her the ability and courage to go off into the world and carve a niche out for herself.

Finally, her mind began to wander to the birth of her child. The many hours of labor, the amazing feeling of suddenly realizing that another life is being brought into this world. She reflected back on her rollercoaster of emotions she was feeling at the time: anxiety, happiness, blessing, pain. At that very moment, she discovered the greatest and most life-altering role that she would be playing and that's the role of mommy. Bringing a sense of innocence and her mind-shaping views that were instilled by her own mother.

As she came back from the very place she started reflecting upon, she heard the faint cry of a little baby. She instantly snapped out of her dream and went to check on her little one. As she picked up the child, the child's fussiness slowly faded away and an undulating sea of calm washed over both mother and child. Her 30 minutes of reflection symbolized a likeness on what her life has become. Her child sat quietly and gently closed its eyes while smelling that sweet smell of jasmine. It was at the very moment her life had come full circle. It was a face only a mother could love.

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