Today I am thankful for my village.
Have you read 'The Red Tent?' If not, you should.
We weren't necessarily meant to do all of this parenting alone, you know!
I feel so blessed to have made several amazing friends here...not just the kind that you drink wine with over a good bitch session, but the kind that you drink and bitch with over way more hours than you'd normally spend at someone else's house; hours during which you're perfectly comfortable to help yourself, rummage through their kitchen in search of the perfect serving dish, and have your children run around like banshees while your rear is planted firmly in their kitchen chair-because you don't have to worry that your children are going to dart into a street or take off with a stranger.
I was fortunate enough to have two such days this week and it was fantastic. Both families are quite different; one, a family whose son also has autism, and the other a family with three typical children who all have this fabulous gift of accepting M and all his quirks and still try to include him over and over again. I love that these friends don't care if their homes are spotless when I come over...or that they forgot to cook a vegetable to go with the chicken. I love that they take the initiative to put a borrowed t-shirt on B who arrived wrongly dressed for the hot weather in a long-sleeved shirt and jeans. I love that when M could not handle the movie I suggested we see, they did not feel short changed (even though I did!) and suggested instead we head back to their house to relax. I love that they told me how relaxed they, too, feel just hanging out with us.
It really does take a village. Let us not forget this and always cherish the good friends we have in our lives.
What do you love about your village?
5 comments:
Love this! I wish our villages were closer to one another :)
This is a good one.
My village is so much fun - but many of them are still in Austin. :( I wish I was part of your village too.
My newest blessing recently is the one and only Ms. Kathy Adaky. With her husband at St. Lukes, she comes and stays the night wtih us a couple of times a week. Mallory calls her Miss Happy and Christopher uses her as the trial audience for some of his bad jokes, learned from Sid the Science kid. He relates so well to her - much better than to the NT kids that moved in behind us. He is much more interested in their playscape than in them themselves. That's when his PDD really shows up.
So for today, I am thankful for Kathy.
I feel like I am part of your village, even though we are out of touch. I read your blog faithfully, even when I can't keep up with my own. Thanks for sharing your not so glamorous secrets, it's very real. I'm glad you have people in your life who get it. We all need that!
I loved the red tent, I should read it again. My village is growing slowly but sometimes I wish that I lived closer to more friends so we could have a closer one.
You all are part of my village, and I hope you know it! Just by reading this blog and reaching out to let me know you care is one of the most important roles a villager can hold :)
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