Simple Joys
When I was 12, a small miracle occurred. Amidst the sadness and turmoil of a family falling apart, struggling to stay in the home and keeping our heads above water, one of my sisters had a baby. He, Thomas, was the first of many nieces and nephews that I had the pleasure of greeting and welcoming into the family but this guy.....this guy brought something with him that had been missing. Hope. I can only speak from my perspective but we all seemed sort of shell shock and sad. Life had been hard, especially for my mother, and things would get harder before they got better but suddenly there was something that brought joy and smiles to all our faces on a daily basis. My sister allowed me babysit that guy and through the years we had many adventures hiking, beach trips, swimming, the zoo, teaching he and his little bro to drive in parking lots. So many good memories. I have no doubt I was not the best babysitter around, my parenting tools were (and still are) questionable, but I did, and d...
