Friday, September 25, 2009

It takes a Village

I have so many friends going through awful times, a break up, a job loss and denied medical insurance, a husband arrested and put into jail and being refused his stroke preventative medication while watching his blood pressure increase dramatically (and he a very Christian dude).
So I was thinking about my own life and wishing I could take some of their pain on, because even though I don't feel like I really have any friends who would drop everything and come pick me up if my car stalled on the side of the road (my own parents didn't even want to come get us this weekend when it actually happened) I do have amazing family and friends who love us and support us in their own ways.
Thus far, raising Link has been so easy, mostly because of being so well cared for. So I would like to take a moment to thank you all. In particular those of you who are parents. I would not be able to stop if I mentioned everyone (Debbie, Jazz, Amber, Etc) so this is for the moms and dads.

Betsy and Jim- cloth diapers galore, inspiration for home birth, support in nursing and diapering and attachment parenting

Ted, Lorri- the best clothing a little boy could want all at the right size and season, AND for being the best secret holder and support during the first months. Many don't know Lorri was the first to know of Lincoln's appearance.

Phil, Teresa- diapers and wipes, great books, vaccine info, first hand experience with a newborn and thus their equipment (from our experience with Naomi we are big fans of baby wearing, dr. sears, and don't fear taking our newborn to the movies)

Rozann and Bill- after birth support, free babysitting, great compliments about our little guy and our parenting skills

Dustin and Vahida- lots of girls clothing (maybe next time), the opportunity to see a replica of myself as a child in my niece, sweet garage sale finds (swing, bouncer, car seat) and breast pump

Trish and Richard- being not afraid to say "I am ok with just one child," being there for me to cry about my birth and not saying "at least he is healthy," being inspiration for home birth, for coming to our house several times with food and cleaning up, FOR FINDING US OUR MIDWIVES, for borrowed books

Leslie and Adam- food, food, food (all iron rich vegetarian dishes from the garden), the best breastfeeding advice in the world, co-sleeping support, the best stroller and diaper bag, slings, borrowed books, knitted sweaters and knitting help, willing to drop in any day we call

Marge and John- being ok with having just one child, support during conception time "Wait for the right soul to choose you", being the Third person to know about Link and keep it a secret despite seeing my mom on a regular basis, cookies during a baby visit

Larry and Andrea- $50 spending spree for baby goods, a massage that brought me back to life, freezer food, a baby shower (add Dani and Todd, Liz and Lewis, and Amanda and Chuck to this)

Baby group (Brenda and Muawi, Moira and Jamie, Sadie and Jason, Scott and Lisa, Melissa and Peter, Ben and Katia, Aaron and Jenna)- friendship, support in home birth, great food, support after birth, lots of babies for Link to grow up with

I guess I could go even further with just parents (Trisha and Tim- photos, Michelle and Tom- photos, Amy and John- clothes, Jen and TJ-blog, etc) but I need to stop before this gets too long. So thank you to all the parents out there who helped as well, even if you didn't know you did.

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