There is a famous photograph of the astronaut Ed White, the first American to walk in space, showing him floating above the Earth with a slender cable his only connection to the rest of humanity (or at least the Gemini 4 Capsule).
One morning this week as Christopher and I headed along the road to his nursery, I felt his hand slip into mine - another slender connection to the rest of the world. Just the feel of his slim hand in my big, clumsy paw made my weary heart leap. That small connection pulled me from whatever self absorbed thought was on my mind at the time and reminded me of the luck and responsibility that is being a parent. I have someone to protect, to care for and to nurture.
The connection doesn't have to be physical - I think of the buzz of happiness that I get when I hear Christopher or Freya's voice or see anything that brings them or any of my friends or family to mind, Depression can make one terribly insular - either shunning company or feeling alone in a room full of people, so sometimes it takes something like this to remind me of the importance of the connections we have to the ones we love,
So Christopher's hand in mine felt a bit like Ed White's tether to me - vital and lifegiving. Of course even if one is at the end of one's tether, at least one is still on the tether!
A beautiful thought.
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