The Blessing

I was humbled. Moving this time is more than I can handle alone. So I sent out a "help me with childcare" email to my dear girl friends and my equally dear church. And the response...the blessing of a place like this. A friend from church - a business man turned poet, with kids past high school, offered to come to my house to help watch the kids this week. Another - again a lovely woman from church - emailed to say she had glitter pens and play doh dots (I don't even know what they are!) for Siena to enjoy. Siena doesn't know her well, but when I mentioned glitter, her eyes lit up and she said, I want to go there. Another morning freed up for me to focus on packing and moving. And my friends, all busy themselves, ready to take any and all the kids at a moments notice. Blessing is too mild a word for the gift they are all being to me.

And then today. Today we packed the house. We - though Chris is gone for the week at the Screenwriters Expo, though I have a kindergartener, a preschooler and a 6 month old, though many of my friends have kids in that age range (read: hard to find two minutes to spare to go to the bathroom much less help pack)... The dear students and family at L'Abri came to my rescue today. Eight of us here at my house, and two back at L'Abri watching 5 under 5 (two are 6 month olds). In the space of three hours, we packed 80% of the house, stopping only because the pizza finally arrived and everything that was left is needed for us to live here the next 9 days. Imagine - what might have taken me, with kids around, a week to do, we accomplished with high spirits, laughter and great conversation, in three hours. And then they stayed and blessed me with their company while we ate pizza and ice cream and talked.

Is it hokey for me to say that I've got tears running down my face right now? That I cannot for the life of me imagine leaving this place, filled with people from far and near who invariably treat each other with such kindness and joy-filled service? I can't. Imagine leaving. Although with my house in boxes, it does seem inevitable.