Of all of the hard and difficult lessons I've learned in the last few years, the greatest and most precious has been joy.
Joy in these small people, these boundless and self-contained universes.
Joy in watching them find joy in one another, in marveling at their independence, their choices, their growth, and their exploration of the world inside and outside their own heads.
They deserved to be rejoiced in.
It's been a wonderful summer, and wonderful to spend so much time with these awesome people.
We've swum, hiked, played games, read books, visited friends and family, and laughed a lot.
We've also had overheated days, temper, illness, disappointment, distraction, and crankiness. But none of those things can take away from the joy of being, and being together.
They are unique, unrepeatable, incommunicable, irreplaceable, invaluable, beyond all measure.
The only just response is joy.
