from our publisher & editor “Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth ‘you owe me.’ Look what happens with a love like that. It lights the whole sky.” These words by the Persian poet, Hafiz, resonated with me the first time I read them, but hearing them again recently, I realized how beautifully they describe parenting. A friend confided in me that while her 1-year old is the greatest blessing in her life, she sometimes resents the round-the-clock attention her baby still needs. She thought she’d be sleeping through the night by now. She’s tired of carrying “the kitchen sink” everywhere they go. “Basically,” she said, “I’m one diaper blowout in church away from a nervous breakdown.” I remember those days. Even though you know how lucky you are to have a healthy child, some days you can’t help feeling that motherhood tops the list of thankless jobs. So I remind my friend that parenting is a “reap what you sow” process. And that the way she goes about meeting her daughter’s needs now sets her up for a lifetime of trust, confidence, and self-reliance. I told her what helped me the most was to… surround yourself with support and keep your sense of humor within reach at all times. And that just like any job… you can be bitter about it, or you can do it with love. Look what a love like that can do. It lights up a child’s whole world.
Amity ON THE COVER: Andrea Gallagher Photography
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