Circle of Life

Any time I hear the song "Circle of Life" I cry. I think the older you get the more aware you truly become of that circle. Having my kids was the single most important thing that has ever happened. If someone asked me to define myself in a limited number of words, the first thing that always pops out is that I'm the mother of twins. I tell anyone who will listen, and even those who would rather not hear about it. Being a mom trumps everything else in my life. So when they hold that baby lion up and sing, I blubber. Every time.

I'm a mom, and now a grandmother. And I've lost my parents. The Circle. It's sometimes happy, sometimes sad, always a thing of awe. This past year Ed and I lost three people - his mom and dad, and my dad. And the circle goes on.

My son will soon be a father! He and his wife are expecting their first child mid-January - and it's a boy. I've so thoroughtly enjoyed watching my daughter be a mother and now I can watch my son be a father. Seems like only yesterday he was just a baby himself. Now he's the one to be changing the diapers, reading bedtime stories, and getting up in the middle of the night for a bunch of different reasons. Here's my sweet boy at the age of 2.

And, my brother, Tony, and his wife, Nicki, are expecting their fourth child! Also in mid-January and also a boy. Since Tony is 18 years younger than I am, his children have always felt more like grandkids to me and it's so cool that another one is on the way. This is my brother at the age of 5 at my first wedding.

And here are the two dads-to-be at Easter this year.

Now we're waiting for Ed's daughter to get pregnant with her first and we will have replaced the three family members we lost. The circle of life.

Oh, I also blubber when I hear Sunrise, Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof but that's another story.