Gratitude weekend: 24, 25, 26

Friday, day 24: Today I am grateful for beautiful hospital births.  I spent the morning wearing my doula hat and attending the birth of a friend's baby.  It was a swift birth and almost every point of the family's birth plan was followed, the caregivers were respectful of their wishes, and the family was happy with the experience.  Over the last few years I have seen so many different outcomes, some exactly what the family wanted, some not at all, but each is beautiful in its own right.  I am so happy to be a part of this moment for all the families I have been with, and all the families I will be with. 

Saturday: Today I am thankful for community.  Iowa is not easy on me, but it is days like this when I am with the community of people who get charged up by birth, and the families who want to know more.  Spending my afternoon with my fellow birth workers and with families, with communities, it's so very wonderful.  As an introvert, I am also happy to come home to a family that was ready to eat and go to bed, so I could have a couple hours to myself to recharge my energy in silence.  I am learning to forgive myself for this need, and embrace it with love. 

Sunday: As I sit here typing, I listen to the wind howling as we face another night and day of dangerously low temperatures.  Today I am grateful for a warm home, for heat, for electricity, and a safe place to be when cold weather hits.  I am also grateful for the calming effects of showering, and for youtube videos that can teach one how to play particular tunes one might want to learn.  It sometimes amazes me to think about the world our children are growing up in, with access to such information.  How their minds will expand to take it in!  And how they will need to find balance.  It seems humans are at an amazing point of transition, I'm so happy to be a part of life at this time.