Life with two little children is very full. Full of hysterical tales from the three-year-old, full of new smiles that cover the newborn's whole face, full of playgrounds, bubble baths, sidewalk chalk, sweet coos, and tight squeezes around the neck. It's also full of early bedtimes, never-ending sentences that begin with "I want," and behavior that hinges on hunger levels and the number of hours slept. So for young families, like ours, having friends that join in the hilarity, the irritability-- the unremitting responsibility of parenthood-- we are grateful.
We ventured to Avalon, a friendly beach town in south Jersey, with three other young families this past week. Five kids, three and under, two pregnant mamas (both in their third trimesters, no less), and one 65-pound dog all under one roof. We ate at one big table at every meal (while toddlers came and went), juggled each others' babies on our hips, learned from each others' parenting strategies and patience, watched each others' kids delight in the sand, gag on mushrooms, and meltdown as bedtime ticked closer. We listened to baby monitors from the balcony as our kids slept (and woke and cried and slept and woke and cried and slept) while we ate entire pans of Trader Joe's brownies with heaping spoonfuls of ice-cream, drank Old Fashions, and shared stories and laughter without our favorite tiny humans hanging off of us. Then we crawled into beds with our little ones, remembering all of the good from the day. Community is so good for the soul. We are grateful for ours.
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