A Scary Day

So today was Halloween. I spent the morning bouncing happily between the boys' preschool classrooms, helping with Halloween parties, taking pictures at the school costume parade and just basking in the joy that is watching your kids play and learn and interact in a setting in which you are just a visitor, free to observe. I love Halloween. It's the only holiday that's just fun- no family obligations, no pressure to travel, no spiritual component. Just candy and scary stories and costumes and epic Micheal Jackson songs. And I got to spend it with my sweet little boys. The drive home from preschool was one of those rare moments when you realize how lucky you really are.

And then I walked in the house and checked my messages. There was one saying that a close friend of ours was in the hospital- he'd been in a bicycle accident on his way to school. He was found unconscious and no one knew what had happened. I can't explain the feelings I've been swimming in all day- they range from fear and anger that the streets my own husband bikes to school each day are such a dangerous place for cyclists, to pride in the way that our group of friends rallied to help, to deep admiration for our friend and his wife, who take everything that comes their way with incredible determination and faith. We are so lucky to know them. He's home from the hospital now, and although he's pretty banged up, hopefully will not have any permanent injuries. At the end of this long, scary day, I'm so grateful for my family and friends, and that they're all, if not unscathed, safe and warm tonight.