A complicated equation of gratitude

How do I love you two?  Let me count the ways.

I love you some enormous amount that is derived by a complicated equation.  The inputs to the equation include eight children, an infinite number of trips to Costco, two hundred Halloween decorations, 14 personalized red sweatbands, 30th, 35th, and 40th birthday parties, Southside mix, a sled track in New Hampshire, a sturdy three-legged stool, christenings, craft fairs, a cabin in the White Mountains with no electricity but 12 bunkbeds in a 10×14 foot room, and olde tyme photographs of eight children in costume.  The equation is complicated, but the result is simple: overwhelming gratitude.

You are my anchor and my wings.

Everyday life is a celebration with you two.

You were steadfast friends during a dark and difficult season of my life, letting me show up and just cry if need be.  You love my children dearly, just as I love yours.  Our husbands are close friends.  I think we all know we hit the jackpot.  We are twined together by the lifelong bonds of godfamilyhood.  You are family to me now, and I am more grateful than I can express.  In this season of thanksgiving, I want to try.

I love the photograph above, which is framed as an 8 x 10 in my bedroom (thank you for giving it to me in that beautiful frame!).  I also love these outtakes from that evening, though, since their blur seems to represent the effervescence of our time together, the constant laughter and motion that marks how the two of you inhabit my life.  Thank you.

7 thoughts on “A complicated equation of gratitude”

  1. I loved reading this alongside your warm, happy faces – and I’m glad you all know you hit the jackpot (and boy, did you ever!). I just spent part of an afternoon off on the phone with one of my far-flung best friends and wishing, as always, that we could be closer. I’m grateful this week for her and for a couple of other incredible women that have turned out to be critical parts of some very successful long-distance relationships. 🙂

Comments are closed.