Birthday, Community, and Her First Crush

Sometimes real life occurrences muddy the waters. The past weekend was a bizarre mix of contradiction: comfort and dread, teamwork and argument, accomplishment and failure. Through it all, my daughter was right there. And by 'right there' I mean literally right there. She wanted closeness. She rode around in the Ergo for the first time in many months and we were both happy about it. 30 hugs per minute? Totally doable.

Everyone was happy except my back. Why did you have to grow up, Heart?

To spite the mud, there seem always to be bright spots that manage to swoop out of nowhere and save everything. Those bright spots almost always seem to revolve around my daughter. Because of her, I have been given a pass that allows me to connect with other mothers. This is an awesome part of parenting that nobody tells you about: the community. In my mind, my daughters community can't be too big. There is no such thing as too many people looking out for her. When my circle expanded to involve those other mothers their children came too. I love this about motherhood. It's a privilege to be part of someone else's community - to help their children climb safely on the playground, to clap for them when they get it right, to bring enough fruit for two (or more) and to celebrate birthdays.

One of Ada's favorite friends turned two years old and we went to help her celebrate! We hang out with Kathi and Sarah nearly every weekend now. The girls are thick like thieves and their mothers too. Talking to Kathi is very easy and I always leave feeling ... better. Let's put it this way: extraordinary people raise extraordinary children. If that is the influence in my daughter's childhood, well then, I am one happy mom. Our daughters will grow to be buoyant, confident women. Amen.





The birthday girl had a good time:



Got lots of cool presents:



And was sweet enough to share something as precious as her brand new tricycle, which Ada was happy to ouch around the perimeter of the playground whether Sarah was riding in it or not:



There was cake:



Playtime, fun and games:





And even a new boyfriend for Ada. I think my girl is smitten:




She even climbed up the chain link ladder (for the first time ever) to follow him:





Happy Birthday, sweet Sarah. I'm so glad our families found each other.