My Village

The saying goes, "it takes a village to raise a child", and while I don't disagree with this statement at all, in my case it takes a village to get me through pregnancy. This has been a long road and its almost over, but my heart is overflowing with gratitude for these special people. I have learned so much from them, and mostly how to be a better Christian. They serve as Christ would, not ever wanting anything in return. But someday I hope I can in some way repay them for everything they have done for me. They have made all the difference in my life.

This is Cami and her little boy Calder. Unfortunately Cami is no longer a dweller of Columbus, and we only had a year together, but I think she spent most of that year helping me. We were fast friends from the beginning and our boys loved being together, which made for fun get-togethers multiple times a week. And then I got sick. And then Cami took over. Literally. When I knew I was sick and that I was going to be sick for a long time, I called in for reinforcements and emailed a few friends to ask if they could take Will for a little here and there while I got through he worst part of it. Within 4 hours, Cami had scheduled weeks out for child care for Will, dinner to be brought in, and someone to clean my house twice a week, all printed on a handy chart. I didn't even have to think about anything, let alone worry about it. A few times a week Cami would come over with Calder and the boys would play while I stayed lifeless on the couch and Cami would sit by me and we would just talk for hours. Cortney said he always knew when Cami was over because when he called he could tell I was smiling. That friendship and companionship was one of my most treasured possessions during that awful time. I looked forward to it every week. And we became better friends because of it. She loved doing it and I loved having her there, even when I was just too tired/sick to talk and I just needed to stay in bed. Cami will always be an inspiration to me of just "doing it". I never asked anyone to take charge, but she saw a need and just did it. Cami is now a dweller of D.C. and I'm happy to say that we will be seeing her this October and hopefully after D.C. they will dwell in So. CA, which gives me lots of hope that we'll still see each other once a year when we're visiting family. She's too good a person to not see very often.

These two lovely ladies are Lauren and Cathie. I'll start with Cathie (she's in the middle). Cathie has become one of my dearest friends and we met because she starting coming to a bunch of church things with her neighbor, a mutual friend. Our mutual friend, Danielle, has since moved, but I feel like Cathie has adopted me. Like she's my older sister. And ever since I've been pregnant, that feeling has multiplied ten-fold. She is just always looking out for me. She's always offering to take Will for the afternoon so I can rest, or just taking him because she loves being with him. And for Will, Cathie is this really cool aunt where rules don't apply and calories don't count. The minute we walk into her house, snacks are flying and Will loves it. One time Cathie was watching Will for the morning so I could do some yard work. I dropped him off with a bag of crackers and a string cheese, so Cathie didn't have to worry about finding him a snack. When I came to pick him up she said, "he didn't eat the cheese and crackers, but he ate a bunch of doughnut holes I gave him" and I just started laughing. Cathie, if you give a 2 year-old a choice between cheese or doughnut holes, he's going to choose doughnut holes every time. But that's just all in the fun of being at Cathie's house- you get to eat whatever you want and it doesn't matter! And she's always trying to feed me. Which I don't mind at all because she usually has fresh cookies or brownies on the counter every time I come over.

One day a few months ago, I was feeling entirely overwhelmed and I just needed to vent. I came barging in Cathie's house unannounced (while she was cooking dinner and feeding her kids, mind you) and I just started going off on how stressed I was about certain things that were going on. I can't really even remember what some of those things are now, but at the end I just started crying because I didn't know how to get to the Labor and Delivery Ward of the hospital and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find it when I went into labor. Nevermind that I still had 3 months at the time of this outburst to figure out how to get there. Its funny how the most meaningless stuff puts you over the edge, huh? Cathie just put her arms around me and said, "Oh honey!" and I had a good cry and then went home and went on with my life. The next day there was a special package for me on my doorstep with directions on how to get to the hospital and a big checklist for "the big day" to help me feel more at ease. I love you Cathie. You make me smile just thinking about you.

Lauren is on the left and I really just can't even tell you how much I love this girl. We laugh so much together and we always start telling stories by saying, "oh, here's something that only you and I would find funny". And by perfect design, our sons are best friends. I mean, BEST friends. I tear up just thinking about these boys being separated. Lauren offered so much help to me during the rough part and even took BOTH our boys to the zoo. This would take a lot of courage. And Lauren, I love you so much, but I don't have the courage to take both our boys to the zoo by myself yet. But hopefully, one day I will. A couple of months ago when I was starting to get my appetite back, Lauren asked me if there was anything I was craving. I responded with the NorthStar Burger. Its a vegetarian burger (which is so unlike me) that is just so yummy. But since this burger is quite a bit more expensive than McDonalds, I told her I was anxiously awaiting for the "Free NorthStar Burger Day" coming up in the next few weeks. The next day my doorbell rang and by the time I got to the door, they were gone, but left on my porch was a Northstar burger. I've never smiled so big in my entire life. I love being with Lauren. She helps me be a better person.

And last, but not least, these boys have been co-presidents of the village.

To Will: Thank you for loving to sleep. I can't remember the last time you took less than a 2.5 hour nap, and its really rare that you wake up at night and I am a blessed mommy because of it. And you always seem to know when I need to cuddle and you'll just come and sit in my lap for a while. I love those moments. Thank you for making me smile and laugh each day. I couldn't have made it through these last 9 months without you. You're going to be the best brother Duke could ever ask for.

To Cort: Thank you for not divorcing me over the last 9 months. You had a lot of reasons that would have warranted that. I know I haven't been the most pleasant person to be married to lately. And without complaining, you just rise above and offer to rub my feet almost every night to help me fall asleep because I'm so uncomfortable. You come home from work and never just sit down and relax, but always take Will outside so I can have some peace while I make dinner and that helps my sanity so much. And thank you for never saying anything remotely negative about my pregnant body, but always saying things like, "Babe, you really look exactly the same, you just have a ball under your shirt" that made me feel like a million bucks. Thank you for everything babe. You rock my world.

To Duke: Thank you for teaching me patience. And for teaching me to accept help from others. And thank you for being my constant buddy for the last 9 months. Duke, I've waited so long for you and I promise I'll do everything I can to be a good mom and take care of you each day. I promise we'll laugh alot. Be safe getting here, ok? Kiss you soon.