Blessed

There is a delicate balance and power in quiet, having too much and yet not enough. Her parents need Need NEED the normalcy of life around them and all the while not being sure they are ready. As we did the errands necessary in a time like this, I watched the world around us, people singing to the radio, arriving at work or heading to school, and cars being packed for Thanksgiving travel. Is that the hum of lawn mowers in the neighborhood?

How strange that life goes on. Our world on Tuesday afternoon seemed to stop in its tracks so we could feel Aiyana's life as a whole unit, start to finish. It is so very hard to let her go. We stood together and held on tight to honor how incredibly valuable her gift in our lives has been.

But life did not stop, even for us. Last night, with Norah Jones playing sweetly behind, we sat around the big old kitchen table and sifted through thousands of family photos and out tumbled memories, about Aiyana and everyone else, happy and funny and crazy stories about this amazing family. Food was all over the stove and on the counters, the table and sideboard. We had to move stuff to get to the plates. People were perched on the stools and roamed in and out, around and around, and everyone was laughing and talking at once. Just like usual.

Today is Thanksgiving. We have so much to be grateful for, don't we, the love we can count on no matter what and the memories that keep us connected. We are very blessed.