Special People

Cora wasn't released from the hospital today, and from what it sounds like, it's going to be at least a few more days. She is essentially the same as she was on Monday when we were admitted, and the doctors are thinking that at some point in the next couple of days she will declare which way she's going -- either getting better, or getting worse. They still believe she is showing symptoms of heart failure, so it's just a matter of seeing which direction she's going.

For now we are a bit stuck here.

When I picked Dominic up from school and told him that Jason was with Cora at the hospital and that she wasn't coming home today, he got a sad look on his face. He said, "I had a plan for this afternoon, and it was that we were all together." Ouch.

On another note, one of our dearest friends is moving away tomorrow and we had the privilege of spending a lot of today with her. This morning she came to the hospital to see Cora, and I got to watch them interact with the very special bond that they share. Like everyone in my family, Cora loves this lady so much. She just stared at her, right in the eyes, with so much love. It was clear that in Cora's way, she was telling her just how much she loves her, and also that it's okay to go.

Then I brought Dominic and Cosie out to dinner tonight so they'd get to see her one last time before she went. Their goodbye was a silly one, and they entertained the dinner table with their toddler humor and their bottomless energy. They made everyone smile, especially our dear friend.

As we walked back to the car, Cosie said, "I love those people so much."

Tonight made me so grateful, not only for our amazing friend who has been such a fixture for me and for my kids, but also for all the wonderful quality people we have in our lives.  Really, we have a troop of grade A, all star, gold standard types who enrich our lives everyday. It's a gift to go through something like this and get to see just how much love surrounds us.

One of my favorite things about parenthood is sharing my kids with other people. I find very few things as gratifying as having someone tell me that they love my children. Whether it's the grandparents and their infatuation with each new skill or each little thing these kids say, or whether it's someone who looked into Cora's eyes and felt better, or just a casual friend who got some humor out of these little characters, it all swells my heart. It's those moments when kids feel like a gift of love, given to the world, for no other reason than to make people happy.

I write a lot about the absolute craziness and frustration that is a way of life in our household, but the other side, the bigger side, is love.