After his shower, I gave him a shave. He could have gone another day, but I needed to do this for me. I wanted to care for him with the kind of focus only a razor could exact. Noticing a small bead of red beside his mouth, I realized I’d nicked him. Then I felt something new — a maternal sense of tenderness and compassion. I leaned in to make sure he was okay, whispered a gentle apology, and then finished up. Because of my highly sensitive state, I reacted with a tenderness that surprised me.