Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow

In preparation for the Baby Hugging Tour, Part II coming up next week, we hosted six children under five years and their three parents (one dad was unfortunately away at work) yesterday morning. Actually, we hosted them because we had a chance to visit with another "honorary," our former IV staff member and his wife and three daughters who now minister in Boston, and so invited along one of his former students who now lives here in Wooster and her three sons. I rather expected happy chaos punctuated with unhappiness, but we brought up Karen's Rubbermaid tubs of playmobiles (a lifetime collection and still growing) and instead had happy mess. (I still haven't sorted the toys into their proper tubs to return to their storage spaces--it's on today's "to do" list.) The four older ones just played, so engrossed that two of them didn't even come into the kitchen for a snack. The one year old turned the box fan off and on for two hours (no chance of hurt fingers with this fan) and the baby observed it all. The parents actually got to visit meaningfully. That's when I relabeled the playmobiles: pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. What a treasure! I hesitated to tell K last night during our phone call, knowing that she would mourn the loss of a chance to visit with both sets of children (the gals she only sees very, very occasionally but the boys she can see whenever she is home). However, she was fine and said she was glad to share her toys. Thanks, Karen! It's good to anticipate the California leg of our Baby (and their big brothers and sisters) Hugging Tour with you--Lucas, Miriam, Judah, Callum, Erika, Mason, Marco, and Robert, here we come!