babies babies babies

(and their parents, too)

since being pregnant and having asher out in the world, it has always been nice to connect with other people who are having similar experiences to mine of being a new mother: other young parents, other parents of young children, other parents with similar parenting styles and lifestyle choices, and other babies close to asher's age...

it was great to see heidi and chad and lily for these reasons. they're such lovely people. they're so much fun to spend time with. they're very easy going and loving. lily is a beautiful little soft, sweet-smelling, smoochable bundle. and holding her, my cousin's daughter, another member of the next generation in my family, felt so natural. i loved thinking about watching her grow up through the years, seeing her at our annual thanksgiving get-together. i love that asher will have a playmate so close to his age. and i can learn so much about who asher is by seeing who he's not in other babies.

and then the other day our new wonderful friends dana, efrain, and ayani came to visit.
well, they're amazing. spending time with them is so amazing.
for all the reasons listed above and more
they are a placeholder in my life. emblematic of the relationships i want.



i feel affinity with them in so many ways:
with how they're raising ayani
with the hints of their spiritual understandings of the world that are sprinkled throughout how they talk about their lives
with their commitment to living lives that are meaningful and powerful
with how they interact with one another and with others
with their expressions of themselves and what's important to them in the everyday things they do
and with their expressions of themselves and what's important to them in the bigger things they do

they are beautiful people.