Home again.

Catnaps on the Isenberg couch are hard to beat.

Our trip to the States was tinged with some of the tough stuff: death, fear, sadness -- and while it wasn't the trip I had hoped for, it's hard to dwell too long on anything when the stuff of life is happening so intensely to you with your, ahem, toddler.

How will we ever be able to thank wise Emily enough for dragging us to the Cape?

You forget about death, for example, when your toddler throws up during dinner on the plane ride back. The tough stuff you fear gives way to worries about the death-wish looks that your nearby passengers are giving you, and the discomfort of dampness and smelliness that you know you are fortunate enough to be able to remedy in a matter of about six or seven more hours.

Aurora lost her Abuelita, her father's mother, while we were away. Lucy Bulliet, a fantastic friend of the family, died in early March and our trip made me wrinkle with sadness about not having been able to say goodbye or introduce her to another smart, witty woman who changed my life (Aurora). The rest, well...there is more, and maybe we'll mention some of it in a later post.

This video is lovingly dedicated to my sister, Aurora's "Auntie Sarah."

And I can't help but include a YouTube gem yet another wise woman sent me a while back: Priscilla put a smile on my face and some groove in somewhere when she sent me this.
 
Let contagious toddler giggles and dance parties get us through all of this and the stuff to come.