Laughter

Sunday night our girls were up late, working on their paintings. Jenny's was a picture of a school restroom -- I forgot to ask her what she called it -- "dirtiness" maybe? -- and Sheri's was of Riomaggiore, as seen from the sea. I slid the hall door closed and climbed -ouch- into bed. The air cleaner's buzz masked most sounds, but I occasionally heard a musical laugh from the living room.

How wonderful it is that our girls enjoy each other! How did we ever get so lucky? To have so much laughter and song and art and dance, theology and math and literature and all kinds of things that they're interested in, all in our home.

We do have our challenges - when some are in tears (of vexation or pain or whatever) - we don't always get along. But Sunday night - that was golden. That joyful sound, drifting through the hallway... my girls enjoying each other and their work, my wife breathing softly beside me, and in spite of the beginning of a cold, my tender side, my broken toe, and the very real challenges we face (but we don't have to think about every minute of every day), I felt like the happiest man on earth.