Thanksgiving

I've learned a lot of neat things about my wife's capacity for generosity and love over the past five and a half months, but one of the most concise and indelible images of her natural tendency towards warmth came to me on the very first day that we were parents. I left the hospital room to get some coffee, I think, and returned to find Cleo asleep and L., still in bed and still pale from the delivery, and clearly exhausted after having been awake for roughly 40 hours, beginning to draw up a list of the folks at the hospital to whom she wanted to send thank-you cards.

Since then, that list has only grown longer, as friends, and family members, and even relative strangers have been remarkably generous towards us and our tiny daughter. And while we've tried to be good about thanking everyone for their thoughtfulness, of course we've sometimes, in the haste of the day, not quite phrased things as fully or as creatively as we'd hoped to. Or, in a few cases, we may have forgotten entirely.

So let's devote this day's blog entry to a few further thanks. Thanks, Holly, for the lovely knit wool hat, and thanks, Robin, for cluing us in to the late-night virtues of a pink lightbulb. Thanks, Tasha, for the Baby Bjorn, which - although you'll remember I was completely flummoxed by it last Christmas, when I tried to put it on backwards - I've now worn for at least 150 hours, with Cleo pressed tight against my chest. Thanks, Tripp and Mara, for late summer invites to the neighborhood pool, and thanks, Shannon, and Melissa, and Steve, and Liz, for giving up your evenings to babysit and let us remember what a city's like at night. Thanks, Dillon, for the fat tub of Boudreaux's butt paste: we may buy stock in the company. Thanks, Jaro and Linda, for being understanding when we've been less than competent hosts. Thanks, Monica, for the suite of baby clothes; your generosity overwhelms. Thanks, Helen Ann, for the many creative gifts, and for a terrific Halloween costume. Thanks, Darran, for the handmade baby food, and thanks, Jessie and Geremy, for your early visit and your colorful gifts. Thanks, Julie, for socks that keep baby feet warm in the grayest of weather, and thanks, Jane, for the heartbreakingly beautiful little blanket. Thanks, Mike, for the thoughtful gift of a bannister, and thanks, Jenn, for your kindness to a little girl who was a complete stranger only three months ago. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for a stream of delightful gifts and for your fall visit, and thanks, Young, for passing it forward. And, heck, while we're at it let's even thank Chris for not lighting that sixth firework last Saturday night at 1 a.m.

But above all, of course, thank you, L. Since day one, we've never had quite enough time to do all of the things we wish we could. But, given that, the best that you can do is always, in my eyes, much more than enough.