The Introvert's Party

But here's the thing.  Even though our bedroom has gotten so cramped that we have to shuffle between the bed and crib, do a half twirl past the changing table, fight with the glider, and answer a riddle from the Sphinx just to get out of the door, baby M has stuff.  Should I say, ample stuff.  We're crowded simply because we have been blessed by other people giving us nice stuff for free.  Thus far, we could furnish a whole nursery without having spent a dime, all because of other people who had to put their own babies in a corner.

"When we had our first baby..."   Stories have come pouring in, along side boxes of hand-me-downs and gifts of baby gear, of parents who muddled through circumstances far more challenging than our own. 

So, in light of all that's happened this week in Boston and the world, what's to come in the future and plague our social media feeds and whatnot, I still believe that the most contagious human trait is generosity, excessive generosity (if such a thing can/should be quantified in a way), and I think it's harder to be infected unless you yourself have been in a position of great need. 

Baby M's corner is starting to feel less claustrophobic, a bit cozier, and appropriately metaphoric.  There are parts of my life that I can regard with great pride, parts that are a product of hard work and sweat, but so much of my world has been an offering to me of charity, of love, of grace, and I feel utterly humbled.  I hope Baby M is proud of us, but more so, I hope M recognizes how abundantly we are blessed.  

 And to all those parents who have thought of their own struggles and done their best to ease ours, thank you.  I hope we get the chance to ever and always pay it forward.