last gathering

two weeks before my move out date, i hosted the last gathering at my darling apartment. at first i thought it was a women's gathering, but then i realized more specifically it was a mother's gathering. it included my own {just in from austria}, one of my favorite surrogate mothers {her older sister, my aunt kathy}, and my own older sister {she is another mother, but just at the very first stage having yet to still fully meet her daughter}. and then there was me, only mothered as of yet, but looking forward to passing on the maternal love i have been given from my own mother and aunt and sister to this new little being, getting ready to emerge. i am surrounded by newborns every day, and while it never stops being magical, they can't begin to compare to the beauty of welcoming my very own niece into the world. any day now. any day.

we started out as only a slumber party can: sprawled out on my bed catching up between the four of us, stories and chatter stretching out and skipping about with ease. we meandered to my kitchen and brought together a potluck breakfast that scooped up hours into its arms. next we cozied up to the couches {i inherited from said aunt} to wrap up again by the table for an impromptu late lunch. more stories. hysterical laughter {will my mother ever get to the punchline of the story that happened 50 years and will still reduce her to tears?!?!}. generational insight as unaired stories are brought forward. bird watching out my dining room window.

the perfect finale to an incredible year in this apartment.