Meeting neighbors

Ahh, what sunshine does for a neighborhood.

As we were turning on sprinklers (yes, just now turning on sprinkler system at the end of June), I was sitting on the front porch swing. Our neighbor came home and we began chatting. She had been at her son's house for a BBQ, her long silver hair glistening in the warm sunshine. The more we all chatted, the more we learned about each other...and Todd and I sung her praises for moving in and taking the place of the awful renters that had preceded her (the partiers til the wee hours of the morning all summer last year). And then the ball dropped. She said she had lost her daughter in March, and I said we had lost our daughter in August. We immediately shared each other's pain. And then she told us she is Tara's mother - Tara was the woman who died in the Bozeman explosion in March. She apologized she had been so reclusive. My heart sank, as the explosion reached a new level in that moment. The conversation continued to turn, and we said we were pregnant again. She glowed and asked if she could do a smoke ceremony for the new baby (she is a first descendant of the Blackfeet Nation). Of course she can.

I look forward to getting to know Skip better. And I look forward to her sharing her blessings for our new baby.

The joy of sunshine.