gratitude: 18 and 19

Saturday I was delighted to visit with my friend, Ivy.  Last summer, Ivy and her family returned to Dubuque after doing an internship here in Iowa City for the year.  Although they were only here for one year, in that time we became very close, and I think of her as a sister in spirit.  It was so wonderful to spend a few short hours with her, catching up and being together.  It reminded me that time has a way of slipping past us, and if we don't seize moments, we can miss them.  Ivy and her family will be moving again sometime this summer when her husband, Jason, gets his first placement as a pastor.  It's likely that it will be far from Iowa.  Our time together today was refreshing and it renewed my spirit and my intent to be a better friend: not only to get up and visit her in Dubuque before her family is off on their next adventure, but to also be a better friend to other people in my life.  For this, I am grateful.

Today was a full day, an award ceremony for Leila, choir practice, homework.  But this evening as I snuggled with Jude while nursing him to sleep, I was filled with love and joy.  I am so grateful that he continues to nurse; each time I go to Seattle, I wonder if when I return he will be done, that he will never ask again.  I know it will be okay when that happens, but it will also feel like a chapter of my life is over; no more babies, no more nurslings.  And that will be okay, but I will miss it.  So today I am grateful for my still-nursing child, and for the bond all three of my children and I have shared.  There is something so primal and intimate about the bond that grows from nursing a child, and I feel so blessed that this time in my life has been so long and fulfilling, without many bumps or heartaches along the way, and that each child has moved on from this relationship in a gentle manner.