I saw my baby in the fall of last year, and I did something I haven’t done since L was six months old: I brought my sister.
I’ve talked before about how possessive I can get of L, and how weird it feels to include anyone who isn’t myself or her parents in her story. But I made an exception because I knew my sister was dying to see her again, and it went well. It’s certainly not something I’ll do every time, because this time with L is so rare and so precious to me and I don’t usually want to share it. But it was nice having my sister there. The lead-up to the meeting was more exciting than stressful — I didn’t feel so crazy about wanting to bring her some books, for instance!
But it was also cool in a very unexpected way: it made me realize how much I actually do know about L and her family. In trying to prep my sister by giving her a little background, I talked about how these visits usually go, the place we usually meet, what we talk about (and don’t talk about). Not that anything is off-limits, really; just things I’m careful about.
It was a really great day. We spent the entire day there together, with L and her sister running around with their dad. I sat on a bench with C and my sister, and the three of us passed most of the day just chatting — about life, what we’d been up to lately, recent travels, and so on. C told us all about L and what she’d been up to, new activities, and so on. I try not to share too many specifics about my girl and her family here to protect their privacy, but the stories C told had me laughing most of the day. God, I just love them all so much it feels overwhelming sometimes.
Looking back on that day now, with everyone in quarantine for the foreseeable future, I’m more grateful than ever that I got to see L and her family before everything got locked down. C has still been posting pictures for me (like Easter photos!), which always lifts my spirits in a way nothing else does.
Hope everyone is staying safe out there.
A Flower That Lives On A Star 