Sunday, March 28, 2010

....all good things must come to an end......

........I couldn't have asked for a better way to have my first child......these 3 children were all born within 1 month of each other and have made it to to the ever so large age of two thinking that every toddler in the world gets neighbors as great as these! Elsie, William and Caitlin are the best of friends and have made so many special little memories together......


......for me it was not only these children, but their mothers who have become my friends...in a time when I wasn't sure to keep working and carry on with my 12 year career or stay at home with this little miracle I had been given now seems like a century ago.....so lucky that I had this option to choose, I was still conflicted in that time of my life....many nights of tossing and turning, many prayers that God's will be done....I was afraid of missing the adult interaction, of losing the business side of me that at times could be savvy, of having too much time on my hands, not enough friends, and truly really wondering without my career did I still have my own identity?
And so two years later......these women have been my sounding boards, their children have given me so many smiles, little chuckles, stomach aching laughs....it's a building where a little knock at the door brings a thoughtful toy that someone picked up thinking of little Elsie or Callie, a favor for an egg or a cup of milk, a play date on a rainy day, a glass of wine after the children have gone to bed....it's a life that I pinch myself at times because it's such a special way to live that suburbia could not comprehend unless they come to visit to see how the city dwellers do normal daily events....



.....Our neighbors that live directly next door to us moved to CT last week....it is normal for most growing families to move out of the city for the extra space, so hearing that one neighbor or another is moving to the "burbs" is not unusual.....When Cristen told me that she and her family were leaving, it didn't really register until we had to say goodbye.... 
















 ......It's small, subtle reminders that trigger the longing for our friends...the darkness from under their front door instead of the light that would beam through the crack brings me to tears still one week later....the new quietness of the 2nd floor when it wouldn't be uncommon to hear a baby cry, a toddler tantrum, or a silly giggle....usually the chaos in perfect harmony since many times those household noises were coming from both apartments simultaneously....

.....and although the distance won't take away our friendship, I will miss the closeness of being neighbors....the friend to talk to at one knock of a door, the walks to the park, the brisk half jog to Sunday school always running 10 minutes late, the picnics, the chats in the hallway while the toddlers ran stairs, complaining about doing laundry as we lugged our burp rags and fitted crib sheets to the basement....I will just miss seeing Cristen's beautiful face and her lovely, sweet children every single day.....


......so now all I can do is be thankful for the 2.5 years of being neighbors, having each other to experience being first time Moms, both of us getting settled in staying at home with our children and LOVING it, having second babies together, and now being able to do city AND suburbia play dates......but most importantly I can be thankful for our friendship.....


...... and the good news is that we still have little William to play with.....I think he is the sweetest, kindest little boy I know...... 



.....and everyday I will just cherish the memories like a beautiful picnic at the park, seeing big smiles on my girls' faces, hearing the laughter, watching the wonder....it's days like these that turn out to be so good for the soul......

Photography by Sara Blackburn