joys and concerns

The church where I spent the majority of my youth, had a wonderful tradition wherein every Sunday, if the desire struck, people would stand up - before the congregation - and share any joys or concerns that they were experiencing in their lives. If you've got a concern, it's nice for people to know so that they can support you. And if you've got a joy, well, it's nice for people to know so that they can celebrate with you.

So in the spirit of sharing ...

For the past few days, I've been home alone with the children while Charlie has been on a business trip to California. He's on his way back, and I'm thrilled about seeing him again. Not just because I love the man dearly, but because raising our family is genuinely a team effort.

This week, I learned that one of the members of our high-order multiples support group in California, recently passed away. While I never met Roberto personally, I do recall seeing notes from him on our community board and he seemed like a very involved father. He had been diagnosed a few years ago with bone cancer, that recently metastasized. He leaves behind a wife, Alessandra, two-year-old quadruplets and a five-year-old singleton.

This family has been on my mind, all week. It's a very difficult and impossibly sad situation to comprehend. Recognizing how much I not only like having Charlie around, but feel like I genuinely NEED HIM as a stabilizer to our family unit, my heart breaks for the Caetano family's irreplaceable loss. I'm holding Alessandra and her five beautiful children in my heart and I'm praying that she finds the strength and fortitude to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I'm also praying that my sister, Mary, who will soon be undergoing additional cancer treatment, feels the love that is coming her way.

Lastly, I'm praying that on this very night, in some lab somewhere, someone derives a potion that will once and for all kick cancer's ass to the curb.

And now ... for some joys!

Yesterday afternoon, the children were enjoying a picnic outdoors and suddenly, Elizabeth was excitedly pointing at the crystal blue sky. "What is it?" I asked. She jumped up and said, "LOOK! See right there? It's SPRING! It's coming our way!"



Our children had absolutely no concept of seasons when we lived in California because it so often happened that one balmy blue-skied day would blend with the next. But here, the impending change is so evident, we are giddy with excitement. In fact, for the past several days, the increasingly warmer temperatures have meant that our family has essentially moved from the indoors to the outdoors. We eat, nap, and play in the sunshine.



Today, it was an absolutely gorgeous 70 degrees. I don't think I ever realized before just how wonderful 70 degrees feels? There was a gentle wind and the sun warmed us, and the snow piles in our yard, from the inside, out. As a result, the most glorious mud puddles our children have ever witnessed, are now dappled across our partially barren landscape.



It is for that reason, I've never been filled with such joy that I own a washing machine and something called "Tide with Bleach" has been invented.