When I think about the time of pregnancy-birth-postpartum I have two sides of the quilt. The front, a beautiful patchwork of colors and layers, the side that is carefully planned and organized, and the back, the side I don’t often show. However, the back of the quilt is the part that holds the entire thing…

I remember the emotional ups and downs of being isolated in the Arctic with three little ones—newborn twins and a toddler—and a husband who had a hard time dealing with crying babies (actually any crying). He took off to do work at his office in the evenings to get away, then complained about his difficulty…