Grateful for the village

I started reflecting lately, about how grateful I am to the village that helps me raise my children.

This deep gratitude was sparked off especially when my sis-in-law, doting aunt to the girls, suggested that the girls have a sleepover at their grandparent’s home (also her home) without us parents. She even volunteered to bunk with them through the night!

I think I can count on one hand, the number of times I had an entire night and morning away from the girls. She could not see the tears of gratitude almost forming in my eyes as we said yes over whatsapp.

It was like a holiday. We could go for a midnight movie if we wanted. But being old fogies, we decided that we’d be too tired the next day. We had a simple dinner, and realised that it was the first time we dined at this nearby eatery without having to deal with the girls. We made a phone-stack, and chatted randomly.  Thereafter I scheduled a half-hour back massage session, and I beavered away for three uninterrupted hours at the computer on my blogging obligations, and the hubs had an early night so he could wake early for his pre-dawn long jog.

It was bliss.

The gramps and aunt sent us cute photos of the kids having the time of their life. They played lots of “Happy Family” at home, spent time in a library, had dinner and dessert at a food court, went window shopping. And assured us that they were merely posing with the toys after the hubs asked with some alarm if those toys were purchases.

The next day, dear doting aunt recounted the war-like scenarios of bunking with the kids. B doesn’t sleep neatly at all, so finally someone else got a taste of that.

Beyond this lovely break (our home was So Quiet! So Spacious! So Neat!), we are also grateful for my parents, my uncle and his wife (their very doting granduncle and grandaunty), as well as dear Aunty Susan our helper for being the rest of the village that nurtures our little ones, on a daily basis.

Sometimes, it can be draining and overwhelming to think that parents have the sole responsibility of bringing them up along the straight and narrow. But we know that we have a close-knit community around us, comprising immediate relatives who love the girls as much as we do, and friends in our church and communities (blogger friends!) who also lend a listening ear and sound advice when we relate parenting trials.

Thank you, everyone, for loving our children and praying for them alongside us. We are so grateful that you are our village, and we hope to be yours too.

p.s. Here’s my friend Yann’s tribute to her village!