In a culture that values self-sufficiency and individual rights over responsibilities, I find that I am drawn to the concept of interdependence - that life is balance of giving to others when the gift cannot be repaid and humbly receiving when you cannot repay. This, I believe, is at the heart of what it means to be a community.
We have been blessed with a great community of friends who have provided us with gifts for both parents and baby, meals and groceries, and emotional support over the past several months. It is my hope that we can pay forward what we have received to others in need.
Paul and Judy have a calm, reassuring presence with a perfect balance of humor. Judy stopped over on Friday with a meal and to check in on Andrea and Teagan. We didn't get a picture during her visit, so we snapped this one at church.
Olga is pictured here with Judy and Teagan. She was an invaluable resource to Dan when he was preparing for the LEED certification exam."A hundred times a day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depends on the labor of other people, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. I am strongly drawn to the simple life and am often oppressed by the feeling that I am engrossing an unnecessary amount of the labor of my fellow people."- Albert Einstein
Dan and Andrea - a finer compliment we have never received.
ReplyDeleteThe baptism was lovely; enjoyed meeting friends and family and being part of it all--pp