All Good Gifts

   I remember where I was standing. I remember my exact thoughts...."What a wonderful time to be alive, and to be a parent". What was the momentous event that precipitated such a heady thought? The new shopping carts at the Teeter....the ones that had the two forward facing green plastic seats attached to the regular buggy. PERFECT for a 5 year old, a 2 year old and a new baby. I could strap the two big kids in the green seats, put the baby carrier in the regular buggy - badabing, badaboom. I was invincible. I COULD shop with three children!
     I passed just such a buggy earlier this afternoon, as I left that same store. As I smiled at the young Mother, and her two littles, I chuckled at my young Mom self and thought how little my younger self could have imagined the day I have had today.
     Early this morning, I kissed Babiest Girl at the door as she left to drive herself to the fancy pants school - one town over.(That alone would have been enough to render my younger Mother self  verklempt!) I had just poured myself another cup of decaf (thanks, stroke) and settled in my chair to watch a little Good Morning America (NOT the TODAY SHOW, my show of choice, which I haven't been able to watch in WEEKS, THANKS Dish Network and NBC and the RIDICULOUS contract dispute), when my phone rang. MILAN calling! Baby Girl on the Video Chat! Through the miracle of technology, I was able to join her picnic lunch in the park at the Freedom Arch. (Sunday morning before Church, I was able to join her on a Bike ride past the Castle!) The sun must shine differently in Italy, because she was bathed in this glorious mid-day golden light - her face so beautiful, relaxed and happy as she made the most of her time before she picked up her charge at preschool.
    My phone rang once again, just as I was beginning to consider lunch. This time, for the first time in two months (exactly two months today, but who is counting), it was ZAMBIA calling! Peace Corps Boy was on the video chat. For 45 minutes I tried to control the tears of joy as we talked about his life in Africa, his bed bug rashes, food, birds, snakes, wild animals, his new friends, his new life......all the while, he was moving - changing positions so I could see his surroundings - the exotic place that is now his home. The sun shines differently there too. He looked so good. So happy. So fulfilled. You will be glad to know that I refrained from asking him to pull up his shirt, so that I could diagnose the bed bugs for myself.(Diagnosing maladies of all kinds is a hobby of mine....don't ask - I wanted to be a Doctor...). As the sun was getting low in the horizon, he had to go. His compatriots were waiting on him there in the training center, so they could make the 30 minute bike ride back to their respective villages  before it got dark. I have never wanted anything so much as I did at that moment - I wanted to be able to reach through the screen and the miles for one hug.....just one. He ended the call with a dazzling smile and his signature two syllable "Bye" (Bie-eee). 
    I sat in the silence, tears streaming down my face, looking at my phone - marveling at this device that in less than 4 hours had let me see  and talk to two of my Children - on two different continents. Marveling at the fact that I HAVE two children on two different continents.
   I have a friend from childhood....he lives far away from our home town now, but every day, I drive past a stretch of land that has three houses in a row. In them live my friends' parents and his sisters and their families. I am THAT kind of Mama. The one whose fondest dream would be that we would all live beside each other - separate, but together. If I were a betting gal, I would place sure money on the fact that this dream will likely never come true. My consolation and amazement lies in the technology that allows me to have mornings like this one....Where I can spy with my own little eyes the beautiful faces of my children....share their experiences and hear their beloved voices. 
   It is not lost on me, that my ancestor - Alexander Graham Bell made all of this possible, by his invention of the phone - So,  I give thanks to my very distant cousin, (perhaps I should also thank Al Gore for inventing the interwebs) for the phone calls I received today......I give thanks to my Children for remembering to call their poor old Mama....I give thanks to God, for all good gifts around us. I say to myself - what a wonderful time to be alive and to be a parent.