It Takes a Village

I'm back to work from being put on bedrest during my last month of pregnancy, recovering from childbirth, and then undergoing a (not so major) surgery.

Half of me is glad to be back, but the other half still thinks I'm never going to get back on track or find a routine that I can easily slip back into.

It makes me extremely thankful that I don't have to do it alone.

Its not just my husband, who lets me sleep in on Saturday or who wakes up for the 3am feeding.

Its not just my mom, God bless her, who when I'm in tears from hormones or exhaustion, or a combination of both, takes her grandkids so I can get a single night of rest.

It's not just my cousin, who even if we weren't related by blood, would probably lay down her life for me.

Its the other people, too. The ones who throw you showers, or drop off diapers, who crowd into the hospital room even though you're throwing up, and there's already so many people in the room that they're spilling over into the hallway.

Since we moved around a lot as a kid, I think I missed out on that sense of community that people are talking about when they say "It takes a village." But this weekend, celebrating the birthday of a friend, I couldn't help but remember the "good old times."

I went to college at WTAMU and the people that I met there are some of the same people who are helping me raise my own sons, today.

I remember the guy who was so painfully shy he hugged the wall at most parties, and the girl who had a painful crush on him.

I remember the boy who was afraid to hug me, afraid to get too close to anyone it seemed.

And of course I remember the twins,so full of life and chivalry! Pulling out our chairs and standing up when we came to the table.

That girl with the painful crush won her man and now they have a beautiful life together and a beautiful daughter to show for it.

That boy, though he has no children of his own, has no problem playing the favorite uncle, not only for his own nieces, but for all of our kids.

And the twins have grown into wonderful husbands and fathers who can still make being "childlike" an art form.

We've lost some friends along the way, but picked up a few down the road. Hell, some that had been missing even rejoined the fold! It takes a village to raise a child, but sometimes it takes a village to shape ourselves as well.

What would college have been like for me without you, Nathan and Sarah, Shawn, Tim, and James? What would life be like now, without you, Donnie and Kissaundra? Crystal and Rusty? Vanessa and Clay?

James and I sometimes talk about opportunities to move to a bigger city, where we could make more money, have better jobs, live in a more exciting city.

In the end we always stay. We stay because you are our village, and life wouldn't be the same without you...