There are days when you just need to put down the busyness of life to spend a few hours sitting across the table from a dear friend. Especially when you’re 37 weeks and 31 weeks pregnant, with three little ones at home between you, and the calendar is moving fast. Today was one of those days.

Sometimes (often) I look around and think to myself, “This is an undeservedly charmed life.” But there are plenty of things that arise and create challenges, heartache, tears, hurt…so I imagine God smiles when He looks over us and sees us truly savoring the good anyway–the marrow of life in the day to day. This particular charmed life comes by way of beautiful moments, opportunities to make the best out of the ordinary, and an increasing effort to be thankful in everything, whenever possible. I feel like there’s so much to appreciate about our regular, everyday experiences if we only try.

This is why I look back on yesterday–and an afternoon with my friends and all of our kiddos at the pool, and I think, “Man, are we blessed.” The fact that we would have the entire afternoon (and the chance to all be primarily stay at home moms together) is just a delight to me. And then to consider our surroundings, and schedules permitting us to enjoy a summer day–to watch all of our little ones enjoying time together, laughing and playing happily and healthily, is kind of surreal. I think I once imagined this life of mommyhood and wondered if I’d ever arrive here. But here is exactly where we are.

I won’t pretend that everything is always rosy, that I don’t lose my cool from time to time with my kiddo, or that we have perfectly flawless days. We don’t. But I’m still beyond grateful for what we do have, and for the dear friendships that I have the privilege of doing this alongside. It would be a lonely road otherwise…

So when I sit down to dinner with one of my very best friends (something we love to do, but don’t do as often as we’d love:), and I look out over a perfectly peaceful marina and the bay and all that goes with it, and we have an uninterrupted conversation for hours over delicious food, I just plain feel crazy-blessed. It’s easy in the routine of the day to day for us to do life alongside each other, but to be able to stop and not tend to the needs of little ones or think about to do lists…it’s just perfect. And tonight was perfectly timed. I didn’t know that I needed the outing, but I did need it. And I realized I missed my friend. We certainly celebrate the joy of having our kids in tow more often than not, but there’s something to be said for a chance to just catch up, to chat about the little things and big things, to compare notes on pregnancy woes without feeling guilty about it, and to support each other in the everyday, when we’re not serving lunch to a brood of hungry munchkins or keeping tabs on an energetic bunch at the pool. In a word, this evening was charmed. And the view didn’t hurt a bit either.

How do you know you’ve been friends with someone for nearly a decade? And that they’d be irreplaceable in your life? You know because you always pick up where you left off, without skipping a beat. And they hear you, and you, them, and you know each other’s hearts and don’t require a whole ton of back story. And you share food off of the menu at dinner and lose track of time. And then you deliver babies only weeks apart and do this parenting thing at the same time and love each other all the more for so many big life changes and seasons and years woven together like a rich fabric that gets prettier with age. And you come home refreshed and thankful, and ready to do it all over again the next time life permits.

Tonight was a gift to my heart, and a reminder that life is truly charmed when blessed with deep friendships and truth and a sense of being understood. I’m so thankful for my dear friend. And so grateful that our (still) growing bellies are growing together. Perhaps our newest wee ones will grow together in beautiful friendship, too.

full in all of the good ways,

mm