You make my heart super-duper happy...

One of the things that has amazed me in this whole season is how well the kids are doing. We've basically been in some sort of crisis of one form or another since just after Soren was born: David's dad dying, unemployment, job conflicts and transitions, Midi and Nathan dying, etc. For David and I all of these things have brought up deeper issues for both of us, so we're wading through internal stuff on top of the crisis-management mode it feels like we've been in forever now.

The relationship between the two of us certainly has been impacted by all of this. It's not that we're doing badly; we just celebrated our 11th anniversary, and in some ways, I think we've weathered everything farily well considering. But we're tired and more prone to not make life worse for each other rather than to be a cheerleader in all that we're wading through.

And that's where it amazes me how well the kids are doing. They are generally cheerful kids, engaging with others, articulate for their age, and loving (the "you make my heart super-duper happy" quote is something Soren has taken to saying to David and I; I was admittedly more touched before I found out he's quoting a cartoon, but it still melts my heart a bit anyway...). They certainly aren't perfect; there's a fair amount of yelling, whining, and teasing that goes on in our house. But that they are as wonderful as they are despite of how much stress their parents have been under for most of their lives seems like an act of God's goodness to all of us. David and I may work on being good parents, but we are acutely aware of our weaknesses these days, and certainly can't take credit for all of who they are at present. And as stressful as it is sometimes to be dealing with grief and other issues of depth while parenting young children, it does help to those smaller arms flung around you every so often in spontaneous affection.