Party time

Mark and I are going to a "will party" tonight. And I use the word 'party' loosely.

It's several couples going to somebody's house for a few hours one night so we can share the cost of the lawyer and use our collective motivation to get us to finish this yucky task. Then we reconvene in a few weeks to sign everything and make it official. It's one of those things that has to be done, but nobody ever enjoys doing it - so why not try to make it a little easier/more enjoyable?

We've been struggling with the guardian issue. If something were to happen to both of us, who would take care of Claire and any future kids we'll have? I hate thinking about it, but there's something I would hate even more: my kids being handed over to a stranger because we didn't choose somebody ourselves. Even when we think of people we know and love, it's tough. Some are single and we don't want to tie them down, others are already busy with a big family and maybe don't live the same lifestyle we want our kids to live. And thinking of somebody else raising your child, no matter how much you love them, is a difficult thing to do. But it has to be done. So we'll see how tonight goes and if we learn anything new that might make this an easier process.

In more uplifting news...yesterday Claire and I went on a long walk around the neighborhood and I happened to find a diamond ring along the way. When we got home, I posted a message on our neighborhood website and called the community center to let them know. It was a really nice ring - platinum, about a 1 carat center stone with a few quarter carat diamonds on the sides - and I knew somebody had to be missing it. About an hour after I posted the message, I got a phone call and the girl described the ring perfectly - I was so relieved! So she came over and picked it up and I got my happy ending and went about my business.

This afternoon I took Claire to a co-op to pick up some veggies and when we got home there was a black van sitting in our driveway. Hmmm, I'm not expecting anybody, I thought. When I got closer I saw that it was from a local florist, but it still didn't click until I opened the attached card. It was from Sara, the girl whose ring I found yesterday, thanking me for finding her ring with a gorgeous bouquet of tulips in a vase wrapped with a satin ribbon. How sweet, and totally unexpected!

Ok, better run, time for the will party!