Letter from Sarah Ross

I got an email from our friend and Laura's former colleague Sarah Ross, who writes:

"I am so happy to know that Laura is alright and will
be returning soon. How you must have missed these two
incredible women in your life! Salma is beyond
beautiful! She is evidence of all the love that grows
in your family. She has such a happy, smiley,
beautiful face. I can not imagine a more loved child.
She is one lucky little girl to have two such amazing
and loving parents!

I am glad to know that you are thriving in Panama. I
love hearing about your adventures and am living
vicariously through your accounting of them. I always
thought that I might live abroad some day, but...
I guess that California might be as far as we
travel!

Please give Laura a BIG hug for us when she is back
in your arms and lots of love to the three of you!
Keep on writing... you both write so beautifully and
well and of course I adore your perspective on life.
Take care, Sarah"

Sarah, thanks very much for your kind email. This is the danger of writing to a blogger! Your email might be published for all to read! Dastardly bloggers!

I do indeed miss them both, though I don't know if I'd call that drooly little munchkin a woman. I'm speaking of Laura, of course. Ha ha, just kidding, honey - you're all woman!

I am sure no one has been tossing Salma up in the air like I do (carefully of course! - I don't actually let go), so she'll have to get used to me all over again.

As for her happy, smiley, beautiful face, I agree and I say, ma-shaa'Allah. I always give credit to God because we human beings (though we may talk about "making a child") are really powerless in the end. We can manipulate, but never truly create. Only Allah does that.

The strawberry on her head is the little flaw that throws her beauty into relief and makes it all the more noticeable.

And isn't every baby beautiful? A baby is a human being who is utterly trusting, curious, and innocent. A human who has never cursed, lied, cheated, or stolen; never been greedy, abusive or mean. A pure, untainted soul.

Well, Sarah, you never know what the future holds for you. You might find yourself living in Delhi one day, or Tokyo, or Nairobi... who knows. And if you never get any further than California, rememer that many Americans consider California to be as strange as Mars.