Joy and Pain

Last night I attended a memorial service for Jeff's dear great-aunt, who was really more like a grandmother. Today, I got to see a video of my new baby. The life cycle complete. There is always life, and there is always death. Always joy and always pain. And what a strange and wonderful creature it is who can feel both the joy and the pain so deeply and almost simultaneously. It is a privilege to have been created with this capacity. In the coming days and months, we will continue to grieve and to rejoice, and we will marvel at the fact that we can do both and be thankful that we, of all the animals, were created in just this way.