Wednesday, August 08, 2007

The shape of a family

Once upon a time there was just me and Hayley. There was a straight line between us. We talked along it, gazed along its length towards each other and loved from one end of it to the other.

Then came our son. Two became three. Our straight line became a triangle. Sometimes all its sides were the same length. Sometimes one side seemed shorter, two corners closer. Often two of the corners could do little more than look towards the third. (Sometimes we called that third corner "the boss".)

Soon three will become four. Our trangle will become....
"What shape will it be?" I asked Hayley.
"A diamond" she replied.
And I think she's right. Hopefully a tall vertical diamond where the two corners half way up are closest, but never far away away from the other two. And like a real diamond, strong. Very strong, no matter what pressures life bears down on it.

Here's to families of all shapes and sizes.