The Salvation Army Truck just came and gathered a dozen plus bags of miscellaneous treasures for which we no longer have use. There will probably be at least another two dozen bags for collecting in a few more weeks, once we’ve sorted the garage.

This is a time of letting go, of creating space, releasing and opening to the new. I find this to be true in a number of ways, and for our living space to reflect this is tremendously grounding.

It took close to ninety minutes and over four miles for my rascally Roux Huckleberry to fall asleep in his stroller. Oh, toddlers. They try so hard to convince you they no longer need to nap but it just isn’t true! Napping is a wildly important part of healthy development for young kids, a time to internalize all they’ve absorbed. That does not make it any less frustrating as the struggle to get them to sleep intensifies, but the effort is well worth it.

(He literally woke up as I finished typing that last sentence. Ten minutes of snuggling him in my bed and he’s fast asleep again. Punk.)

It’s been three weeks since the surgery that removed from my uterus the contents of a pregnancy that ended prematurely, a baby I will never get to hold in my arms but whom I carried in my womb for over four months and will carry in my heart forever. My physical healing has progressed much more rapidly than I anticipated, a blessing for which I am truly grateful. I am no longer riddled with discomfort or plagued by insomnia. My restlessness has subsided, transforming into heightened level of general productivity. There are still moments of deep sadness, but I’ve decided that’s when the baby is nearest, a remarkably comforting thought.

My main objective at this point is to have as much fun with my kids as possible over the next few weeks. I’m not entirely certain of our plans for the next school year; those questions will be answered in the coming days, after many more conversations with my husband, my colleagues, and our administration. For now, it is still summer vacation and it’s time for us to live into this season of adventure, make some memories, enjoy the incredibly beautiful city which we are so fortunate to call home.