With the beginning of May, our summer season of outdoor grilling and umpteen birthday parties has officially started. And since there are even more kids in the mix nowadays, we are celebrating the second birthdays of Kira and Jasper, followed soon by Coraline, Carolina, and Crosby (what alliteration!), as well as the first birthdays of Grace, Lucy, and Noah and the birth of little Xavier just over a week ago. Whew! This playgroup has really exploded in only a few short years. Yes, there's a lot going on these days and kids in various states of crawling, walking and running everywhere you look. At the park, there's definitely a feeling of community that allows us each a small break from the daily grind of child minding. I've gotten more comfortable with letting Carolina wander a bit on her own now since most people know who she belongs to and can point her back my direction if need be. And there's rarely a need. Watching her tackle the big slide on her own or slowly inch the scooter around the track is such a major change from all the dependence of the baby stages. I can sometimes feel the weight of that neediness lifting off of me ever so slightly, and it's wonderful. It gives me hope for a future where my children love me, but don't need me in such a constant fashion. We're still in the thick of it now with two kids under 5, but there are some nights when we hang out at the park all doing our own thing and it feels like this is really living again. This isn't so bad.
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