this, i gave to her

My best friend's baby shower was this weekend, as you well know. It is with great joy that I finally reveal the "big" present I gave her, the one that happily brought her to tears, the one that comes from my heart, and from the heart of someone an ocean away, an artist I found via Full Instrumental: Flossy-p.


Here, bits to honor: the family, the river, the bluffs, the long haul truck. The sounds that come from within, the ways in which we hold each other captive, captivate. The details of our lives: tattoo, nose ring, wedding flowers. The way we can list our lives like this and notice how much each moment means, what is symbolic. The paper boats remind us of a thousand paper cranes, a wedding wish. The color turquoise. The figures in shadow. The slope of a dog's muzzle. The way art can take your breath away, no matter what the circumstance.

Stand back. Drink it all in. This is a moment in our lives we want to hold close to our hearts. In a month and a half, Kelly will be a mother. I will be an aunt. We will witness the shifting of lives, the way birth is a miracle, know why people say it over and over. We will be forever changed.