Most week days, Michael and Hyla bundle into the car together around 8.15 in the morning and head off for school and then work. Gryfe and I stand at the door and wave to them until the car leaves, then I get my tea and we go downstairs to my office. I sit down at my desk, and Gryfe settles into his dog bed beside me to begin his daily work of chewing on a toy before passing out for his two-hour nap.
This morning started with torrential rain, and then the valley filled with fog and a steady drizzle. It felt dreary and cold and like a good day to stay under the covers with a good book. But I had a lot of work to do.
I tuned the radio to NPR, looked out my window to the bleak November view, and then this StoryCorp story, told by Gregg Korbon and his wife Kathryn, came on the air.
Maybe it was the moody weather, or the fact that Brian was just a little kid, or the detail about the note he left on his door (as the mother of a note writer, this really struck a chord), or just the reminder of how quickly things you think are forever can go away, or my sympathy for his parents. Or all of that.
Whatever it was, it made me so completely sad for a time, and then so overwhelmingly grateful for my family, my healthy little girl, my mug of tea, my work before me, my dreary view of November hills.
Grongar 
I eagerly await Friday mornings to hear those segments, and if it’s a particularly lousy day, I go to their site and listen to a few peoples’ stories. Just makes me feel better, the perspective.
I heard that StoryCorps segment too. And I woke up crying from it, realized that my glum outlook was all my own, and I had nothing to complain about. Life ain’t so bad.
I couldn’t agree more.
OMG, I just listened to this story. I better shouldn’t have, because now I’m soooo sad! But on the other hand it makes me realize how you should appreciate the time with your kids. I have 3 young kids, and sometimes I’m really stressed out, but this story made me feel blessed with 3 loud, but wonderful kids! Thanks for posting this link!