we spent thursday with neighbors/friends, running around in the rain, through the park, and all over the playground. i ‘should’ have been packing, making playlists, and getting ducks in the row for our departure on saturday morning, but it was just one of those days that felt better with adult company. (i’m not always that way…spending alone-time with my pre-school companions most days serves me quite well. it’s never very quiet, but the adventures are many and we laugh a lot.) a woman in our building – a mother of three, one of the kindest, gentlest people you’ll ever meet – has been quite ill for months. just when she was feeling better and we all hoped she was finally on the mend, she was struck with another seizure, induced into another coma, and – although she’s back home now – so frail, fatigued and easily-confused that i just want to hold onto her and cry every time we’re together. the prognosis is quite unknown, as the doctors really just don’t know what’s wrong, and it’s all the more heart-wrenching because her youngest daughter, nat, just turned five this week. we took nat with us to the park today, and although this sweet little girl is starting visibly wear the stresses and fear of her home situation, it was nice to see the kids running around, laughing and swinging the afternoon away. it was raining hard for a good part of the day, but it was really ok.

we’re all just taking care of each other, you know? we’re all just trying to pull each other through the hardest times, holding our breath as we walk through the unknown, and celebrating even our smallest joys with gratefulness. i am grateful for the tribe of people that pull me through, that watch out for my family and prop me up when i need it, and i am grateful to sometimes, in even the smallest ways, be able to help others too.