What a mother.

Over spring break, we were delighted to find out baby number four would be joining the ranks this fall.  Okay, we are definitely delighted, but there was a variety of other emotions that surged through first - I was a bawling mess.  Not because I am having a baby (well, I was looking forward to all of the delicious summer cocktails around the corner, and now I suppose lemonade will suffice), but because I am having a baby in Florida.  We have lived here for two years now, and have nicely settled in and gotten used to traveling back and forth between here and Denver, and the heat is...well, it sucks, but I know now not to go outside from May until September, and we have (finally!) made some great friends to get us out now and then, but...news of a baby coming tossed out any good vibrations I had been getting from living in Florida.  When a woman is pregnant she needs her tribe - or, in other words, her mother.  My mom is 1900 miles away!  How will she babysit for doctor's appointments?!  How will she come over in the middle of the night when my water breaks?!  How will she whisk the other children away and change a diaper or two so I can take a nap?!  All of these things she was able to help me with for our three girls, and it was a huge blessing that we all both loved and appreciated, and that I maybe hadn't realized was so special until now that it's not available.  Of course, I sobbed all of these things to my mom over the phone, and because she is awesome, she came out for a couple of days to put me at ease.  We always love when Meemaw comes - the girls adore her - but I was especially glad to just have her around for a few days to let go of my anxiety over the whole thing.  We lunched, we planted tomatoes, we shopped, we talked about how fast the girls are growing and how sweet my husband is and how silly my brothers were (and are) and how everything is going to be fine.  And how maybe someday we'll be back in Denver, but for now, this is our life, and it's great.  I am so thankful that my mom is willing and able to come visit - I know when we were kids we lived out of state for a while, and my mom's mother was not able to do the same.  They got a call on Sundays, and a visit for Christmas, which was a happy and precious time.  It makes me extra grateful for free long distance and video chats (even with a bad connection), and healthy, travel-savvy parents.  And still, even if all I got was a letter delivered by stagecoach twice a year, I'm always grateful for my ma.