beauty that moves

a request

Hey. I attempted to sit down and write the post I had planned yesterday several different times. I couldn't do it. My mind and my heart have been elsewhere since Sunday.

Heading to the Farmers Market with my family and my suitcases full of handmade goodies as I do every Sunday, I wondered if Chris and Lani of Bean & Leaf would be there... Emily and I talked about them throughout the week too, wondering if this would be the week for Lani to give birth to their first child.  It was exciting to watch Lani grow (and continue to show up and work!) during the hot summer months, assisting her partner Chris, as they served the finest iced coffee and tea in much appreciated compostable cups. They are fine stewards Chris and Lani.

Indeed, Lani did give birth over the week, but sadly and tragically there were complications at the very end and beautiful Silas Orion did not survive. I am writing this story here in hopes that you will take the time to visit Chris's blog and leave words of support. Chris and Lani are not requesting to be left alone right now, they are requesting messages and thoughts of love and kindness. They need to feel uplifted and hopeful, messages from friends, family and total strangers are helping to get them through.

Up until about 5 days ago Chris's blog, Elm City Dad reads like the coolest expectant dad's blog ever. He began writing the day Lani discovered she was pregnant, reading through his archives has been such a joy and I am so glad they will always have his writings. The printed story of their journey is theirs to keep forever. I wish the world was filled with parents who practiced the same intention and presence as Chris and Lani. What a wonderful world it would be.

So please, per Chris's request, "bother them with love."

Thank you. Rest in peace baby Silas.

ahhh...

... much better. Thanks for hanging in there the last few weeks. My wireless friend and I plan to spend the weekend getting reacquainted and will return on Monday. I have so much blogging to get out of my system, I fear I will exhaust you with the blog-a-thon I sense on the horizon.

Unrelated... have you ever loved a song so much it stops you cold when it comes on and just wraps itself around your heart but you can't figure out why? And then one day - bam -you get it, and it's even more beautiful and perfect than you already thought it to be? Yeah, me too.

Also before I go, some political news... A heart-felt congratulations to one trustworthy, newly elected, 10 year old President!  (though her class calls it Class Leader) Your classmates are in very capable hands, well done Emily, We are so proud of you. Kids celebrate these sort of things by skipping the usual bubbly and breaking out festively arranged fruit... thanks Grandma and Pepere for sending this her way!

Have a great weekend everyone, see you back here on Monday!

::UPDATED:: Just wanted to let you know that I finally went into the last post and responded to those of you that had questions and such... it's all in the comments. See you there.

ssshhhh... i'm at the library...

What's the saying? Things will get worse before they get better? My not-so-friendly little laptop is packed up and waiting for Fed Ex to stop by and pick it up. It turns out the new wireless card did not fix things for me... words like motherboard (so ominous sounding) were mentioned by tech support.

La la la la la la.... I'm not listening....

It'll be a while dear blog friends, likely two weeks or so. Please don't forget about me, I promise to return with a blog writing vengeance! All of this extra time has given me room for big ideas... like persuading my husband to join me on a 30 day journey of eating raw. My invitation for him went something like this...

She said: Honey, I've been reading about eating raw and I think I'd like to try it for a month... it'll be a good practice in discipline and purity. Will you join me?

He said: HELL NO!

She said: Oh, that's too bad. This book suggests you ask a really good friend, even your best friend to join you for support and encouragement. I guess I'll find another friend...

He said: Damn it. When do we have to start?

She said: Thanks love.

We are starting on Monday and both of us are journaling the whole experience which we will share here when I am back online. Of course I won't be able to get to the lunch box post until my return either... or the many other ideas for blog posts that have been swirling in my head. Until then, I leave you with a fresh list of web links over on the left sidebar. Enjoy yourselves. And thank you, as always, for your support.

Peace

an update

The verdict on my computer... it needs a new wireless card. Which they are sending me and should arrive this Friday. The thought of me actually installing this is hysterical. Definitely deferring to the husband on that one. We all have our strengths, doing things with teeny tiny phillips head screwdrivers in completely unknown and expensive territory is not mine. If all goes as planned I will be back to regular posting on Monday, starting with my previously mentioned lunchbox post! Please continue to contribute to that subject in the comments today, I will of course link to your brilliance.

I'm on borrowed time right now, using another computer. I'll leave you with a handful of photos from the last several days. Life has felt big and inspiring lately and I've missed capturing that here, I look forward to returning next week and reconnecting with this blog and yours as well.

Two more things... when I removed everything of importance from my computer last week, I forgot to do one thing. Of course I realized this after we had done a complete system recovery, restoring my computer to it's original factory settings. I forgot to copy my blog list. Gasp! You see, I don't subscribe to any blogs, I only bookmark and visit when I can, which is often. I like looking at blogs in their original format, as intended by the author. In the various reader services they seem to leave out all the side bars, banners, and such. I like all that, there's good stuff there. Anyway, I lost my entire list of reads, and it's a little embarrassing to say how many that was. It's a lot, way more than a girl can commit to memory... if you read here chances are I'm reading over at your place. If you don't mind throwing me an email or leaving a comment with your link I'd appreciate that. I'd like to build that list back up again.

Second, I'm going to start responding to your comments and questions within the comments of each post. It may only be once a day that I can do that, but please check back if you had posted a question or a comment that requires a response. The comments section of a blog is a great place for discussion and community, and you are never alone if you have a question or thought about something. Others will benefit from your curiosity.

Enjoy the rest of your week... we started back to school here yesterday and I found one solid, blissful hour of quiet to practice yoga. Right now I'm off for more of the same.