Something I have in abundance that has nothing to do with consumerism...

My son and daughter are the loves of my life. Seriously. I love my husband, my dad, my mom, my brothers, my step-mom Amanda, my in-laws, etc., but I know my love for my son and daughter is something I never before fathomed having.

I am passionate, yes, but often in a very cerebral and practical way. I LOVE swimming because of the zen-like high I get from pounding out the laps...I LOVE J. Crew because of the way that their clothing allows me to feel and (often) look good. I LOVE teaching because I can pass on to a future generation the minute details of what America is, what is has been, and what it can be.

These things that I am passionate about--I could and WOULD throw away tomorrow if I had to choose between them and my kids. No one ever warned me that I would turn into a "mama" bear when I had kids. I feel my instincts kicking in when I am with them...a sheer mix of giddiness, fear, hope, joy, and yes, a huge heart-shaped helping of love.

I always think, "okay, that's enough...I can't possibly love them anymore," and then they do something else that makes my heart skip a beat.

Latest heartbeat-skipping moment: I have been trying to get Rex (my son, now 23 months old) to say "I love you" for ages. He can say our president-elect's name (imagine it--OBAMA! yelled loudly) but not "I love you." So two weeks ago, upon putting him in the crib, I say, "Rex, can you say 'I love you?'" He looks at me with those big blue eyes of his, takes his bottle out of his mouth (yeah, yeah, he shouldn't have a bottle at his age), and says, "wuv you..." My heart about stopped beating. He now yells it on a daily basis...when I am leaving to go to work, putting him to bed, letting him watch yo gabba gabba, you name it. And get this--my heart still skips a beat.
I think there will be many more lovely instances like this in my life. This is the best kind of overabundance to have ever...