Some days you get a tiny little gem and it makes everything clear for a brief, still moment...

Today Ari said, "I miss you Mommy" on the phone and then again when I got home. I tell her I miss her all the time, but suddenly is was as if we had a new understanding of one another and an even deeper way to communicate. We miss each other. We can say it, and talk about it, and giggle gleefully at our reunion, relieved the missing can be over for a little while.

I can't tell you entirely why it was such a momentous thing for me to hear. But it made my day... it helped me think - for a moment - we're going to be okay, we're going to make it through this. And that was a tremendous gift at the end of a long day and a trying week.

I am praying for those in the southeastern US and all those in the pathway of Gustav. I never know how to reconcile these moments of happiness when such sadness and tragedy are striking others. I wish I had the power to ensure everyone was going to be okay. That no one would bear injury or sorrow, experience loss or pain, face difficult choices, or feel helpless and frightened.

But then, that is sometimes the stuff of life. And in my own living, I can look back and see (almost always) how those things led to a greater sense of compassion, increased strength, more powerful resilience, or sharper wisdom. But it is all relative, and if I had a choice, I would cover each and every life with safety and peace, so that everyone could sleep soundly at night firm in the belief we will all be okay.