Embracing the crone

Em is staying with us for a short while before her husband Mark joins us for the Thanksgiving holidays. It's been such a happy time. As an overachieving nurturer, I am loving every bit of it, from feeling the baby kick to making sure there's enough milk in the house at all times. I sense a very definite passing of the torch as I watch her competently care for herself and her family, but I've not experienced any wistfulness--just lots of pride and joy in the opportunity to be a part of it all. And I feel grateful to be so looking forward to my crone-hood which, incidentally, originally had a positive connotation. A crone was the wise elder female of the tribe who was sought for her insights. Oh the pressure.