Sometimes a Glassybaby says it all. 

Friendship. 

My unique professional cadre of mentors and friends: I’m so blessed to have been adopted into this very exclusive sorority. I owe my amazing job to the connections and confidences of these women, and it is this job that is granting me these six months of family leave to spend getting to know my firstborn son. 

Additionally, these women have been there for it all. We have been there for each other through the challenges and the triumphs, the highs and the lows, the births and the deaths, and the insane and the miraculous.

Somewhere in between the diaper changes, outfit changes, spit-up mop-ups, walking dates, car seated errands, shushing and blogging and breastfeeding  I hope I’m imparting Lake with the wisdom and ability to make and appreciate strong friendships. Friendships are the music of my life. As we move through the early days, weeks and months of life with Lake I find myself surrounded with the generosity of friends. 

There was the Friendship Glassybaby that lit the dark moments of the early days when Lake’s rooting needed a guiding hand. There are the cloth diapers and cloth diaper service that we rely so heavily on to provide elegance and ease to a messy situation, nearly a full year gifted through supportive baby shower goers. Many of my favorite workhorse staples came to me through gifts or hand-me-downs from experienced mums: the K’tan, Baby Bjorn, infant car seat, Rinseworks sprayer, and Instant Pot. We are surrounded by books from the shower that wait patiently like friends for Lake to catch up. Just today while eating he has started gazing quietly and curiously at the pieces on our art gallery wall. Books are close behind!

So, thank you friends! I appreciate your friendship. Even when you’re not with me or no longer nearby, you keep us strong. May Lake sense this richness and allow the flame of friendship to bless his life’s path, too. 

And I’m grateful for boys club too. The guys hanging by Tolt River, a tributary of the Snoqualmie, which flows into the Snohomish. 

A perfect life; I’m glad I am spending it with you.