Life Update

So, I meant to do this last week and then didn't. Thought I'd give a little life update.

We had a parachute at The Caterpillar & her friend's birthday party.
I have been waiting to become a child again since I became a teenager.
DONE.

First of all, The Caterpillar turned one. That went by fast.

Because I can't put this in better words, I'm going to borrow the eloquence of my friend Nicole:

"I cannot believe that one year ago, we were holding our precious little [child] for the first time.
Now we can barely keep [her] in our arms!"

She has fun being one. She loves to build blocks and knock them over, and play with her dolls and toys, and is loving, and gentle, and sweet, and more connected to this world than I can put into words.

Also she has a fair amount of temper tantrums. In between bites of food (and I'm talking seconds of having no food in her mouth), she melts down. Melts. Today I introduced her to our sponsored child and explained very patiently that if she doesn't want her sweet potato, Conzela in Tanzania will happily take it. The Caterpillar (and if you know this baby you can imagine this), replied with her famous "uhhhh... yeah!".

The full bedroom deco was put on hold for birthday celebrations and grieving (mostly I'm spending a lot more time in bed these days) but the paint job has been completed. Tip: Don't buy the RONA eco paint. It might be only $17 a gallon, but it stinks something fierce. Its toxicity level is way less than alternative paints, but its smelliness is way up. It smells like dogs.

If you're wondering, John painted, and it was a few weeks ago, and I really appreciate him for it.

And then... here! I'm now a Compassion Blogger. Compassion blog coming soon.

In terms of the pregnancy loss, I'll be honest, I feel like garbage. I'm allowing myself to. If you're going through something similar, you are allowed to feel like garbage. You're allowed to go through grief. I have literally received dozens and dozens of messages of hope and inspiration and encouragement. Thank you for those. I haven't responded to all of them but please know that I will, and that every kind word is a balm to my heart.