Surrounded, in the best possible way

This weekend was an excellent reminder of the fact that I have a lovely, charming network of friends here in Denver. And that if it weren't for my blog, that network basically wouldn't exist. Seriously, if it weren't for amazing bloggy women, I would literally have like three friends in Denver.

But! I have more than three friends! And one of them, Emily, thoughtfully offered to throw me a baby shower, and it happened this past weekend. And many others, including Jeni, Rosie, Kath, Emily, and Penny (as well as a few people who aren't, shall we say, up on social media, and who I therefore can't link to) attended.

And you guys, it was awesome. I was a little nervous because I don't have so much experience with baby showers (in fact, I have never attended one other than my own), and I wasn't too sure about being the center of attention, and also most of the people there had never met each other, and I just wasn't sure how it was all going to come together. But there was no need to worry, because it turned out wonderfully. People seemed to have a lot in common, and they all chatted freely, and Emily had done a wonderful job organizing the whole thing, down to a cute game (not tacky--no sticking your face in fake dirty diapers) and a delicious spread (including chicken chili, guacamole with pomegranate seeds, and delicious cupcakes--all homemade!).

Also, not to blame pregnancy for, I don't know, everything? But it feels like either we are busy or I am exhausted a lot, and our schedule feels like it fills up really fast between prenatal appointments and childbirth classes and infant CPR class and so on and so forth, and so it had been longer than I would have liked since I had seen some of these people, and it was so wonderful to get to catch up with all of them, and now hopefully we will be able to find the time to get together with everyone at least one more time before Piglet is born, and of course again afterward.

And the gifts! People were so generous and their gifts were so thoughtful. Some people bought stuff off the registry, some gave other things, some did a combination of both--and every single thing we received was lovely and amazing and useful and touching. I would describe some of the stuff we received, but I would certainly forget something by mistake and I don't want to omit anyone, because all the gifts were really amazing. So let's just say that now I feel much more prepared to, you know, have a baby, and the nursery is much closer to being complete (and then I will finally show photos! I swear!).

The whole thing was just wonderful, down to and including the stray dog that Emily rescued that morning who spent most of the shower in her back yard, barking and scratching at the door and digging holes in the garden and generally being a nuisance (but I'm told that it had a happy ending and the dog was reunited with its owner). I had such a good time and I left feeling happy and loved and supported and, you know, generally schmoopy.

When we moved to Denver I wasn't sure how our social network would come together, given that we both work out of our homes and didn't know anyone here when we arrived. And it is amazing to me how nicely it has all played out, and how many fabulous people we've met since we moved here. And I feel so glad that Piglet will be born into this network, and that even before he's born, there are so many people who love him and care about him already.

In conclusion, Denver is awesome, and so is blogging. So, thank you.