There and Back Again: The people that you meet each day

Because of you I now know that the young man who recently replaced our mail carrier is named Curtis; that the gentleman that works the check out counter at Aldi is named John; that Grandma Swanson's friend, Miss Helen, does indeed have a gold tooth. Because of you I have become acquainted with nearly every aunt, uncle, grandma, grandpa, mother, father, and friend attending Thomas's baseball games; that Miss MaryAnn is Wyatt and Rider's grandmother and that their mother, Miss Mindy received a lovely necklace from her husband, Coach Chad, for Mother's Day. Because of you I know that Thomas's teammates Denison and Drake have a grandmother named Miss Deanna and that she has plenty of room to hold two growing boys on her lap, in spite of her own twin grandchildren also in attendance; that Miss Melanie, Mel for short, whom we met while hiking at Blackhawk State Park on Monday, will be celebrating her birthday tomorrow, on May 24th. (Happy birthday to her!) Because of you our neighbors Buddy and Nicole are greeted vigorously multiple times a day, often from inside our house; our other neighbor Miss Dolores is routinely and sincerely asked, "How are you today?"; and Peggy and Greg who live two houses down are given the gift of being shown every scratch, scrape, and scab that plagues your tiny bodies. Because of you and your overabundant joy, matched only by your zeal to spread love, my life is richer, brighter, friendlier, more wonderful, as are those of the people you meet around our home, at the park, in the store, or at the baseball field. In five days my little boys born 7,000 miles from me in Daejon City, South Korea, you will turn five. It is an honor to be your mother. And I am so terribly proud of you.