The calm after the storm

This is not a post about hurricanes. I have nothing meaningful to add to the discussion of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina other than to wish some mercy on the people of the Gulf Coast for the remainder of the hurricane season.

The post is about real life. My real life. My real life with a husband and two kids in a suburban farmhouse in New England. A real life in which my job is to watch out for the well-being of two small but independent beings who call me Mama.

After three years of wishing for children and working towards their adoption, after two years of heartbreak and delay, after a summer of frantic transitions -- they are finally here and finally "real".

Even the first few weeks weren't "real;" it felt like a movie plot that we were acting in. We went from no children to one child to two children and from apartment guests to hotel residents to family visits to home with everything a blur. Those first few weeks were about getting by, not about "living."

Life is still chaotic, but it is now the chaos of everyday life. It is the screams of stolen toys and sleepy wimpers, of spilled lunch and bumps and bruises. I am coming to terms with this as my reality. I am overstretched,exhausted, and sometimes frustrated, but extremely content. This is my reality, and I love it.

Update: to highlight the chaos that I call my life, note that this post was written last Saturday, but saved as a draft because I was distracted by a small person's whimper. Sorry about not publishing it sooner.