One of my sons plays Pokemon. It has become a new world of interest and verbal exchange. The other day he was showing me all of the characters in his book of cards.

"See Mom, I have this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, and--"
"Wait, what's this one?"
"Hmmm, I don't know. But look, I have this one and this one and..."

He trailed off, but I held the page open long enough to read the name of the card: Mom's Kindness. What an honor, to have a card named after something so special. Every warrior can take refuge in the warmth of their mother's arms. The card is termed a 'Supporter'.

I got a nice dose of 'Mom's Kindness' today, as well as 'Aunt's Kindness'. After a flurry of family and in-law visits, the kids have all spent the last 24 hours with a stomach virus, throwing up. The piles of laundry today have been comical. At five am, after two hours of helping the kids, we were fresh out of clean warm blankets. Even the sleeping bags lay in the queue next to the laundry.

I am so thankful to have my loving family nearby, with so many ready to help out. I was raised within this helpful, loving environment. Along with making each other laugh, helping is one of the things we do best.

My youngest sister just had her first baby. I look forward to being there for her, in all of the ways in which she was there for me. It is a currency of love and care.