Cup of Steel

"When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up, we would no longer be vulnerable.  But to grow up is to accept vulnerability... To be alive is to be vulnerable." 

Madeleine L'Engle

My camera caught the coffee strangely there - it looks metallic...  We are, in fact, drinking metallic coffee - made of sparkling creamer and fibers of little thin steel.  There's a line in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn that goes like this, describing some of the women in the narrative,

"They were all slender, frail creatures with wondering eyes and soft fluttery voices.  But they were made out of thin, invisible steel." Betty Smith

So, we put some steel in our coffee this morning and hope that it helps us shovel the driveway (it did).  Then we'll put some steel in the baby's bottle.  Even though we're grown-ups, I suppose, we can learn a lot in the way of vulnerability from this little tiny 8 month old - as she chews her toys and tries to eat her feet.  She's a drooling mess wearing clothes that have ears and ruffles.  And somehow she trusts us without thinking that we won't take care of her.   

Here's to being alive.