"Nada"

One of my best friends in the world came and stayed with our little family for this past week. We didn't 'do' much. She mostly just joined in on the rhythm of the days and nights with us.

Making meals. Cleaning up after said meals. Drawing endless pictures of ducks and cats to a curious toddler. Changing diapers. Folding laundry. Cuddling a cutie who is so shockingly close to two. Drinking loads of tea. Eating Cheetos because preggo wanted them. Putting away toys. Having toys dumped from the bag they were placed in.

Our little life is so intimate and quiet, and even she wondered aloud if she was interrupting things, but in actual fact, she was the perfect addition to our home.

Gentle.

Kind.

Patient.

So deeply loved by me. And now Noah, who calls her "Nada."

I give you, the beautiful Miss Angela:

Here she is patiently writing out Noah's name over and over.
Her lap became a favoured place for him to spend much time.



Ever the elementary teacher, she excitedly pointed out:
"He holds a pencil correctly!"

Now that is one happy kiddo!

Our farewell. I held it together so successfully, deciding that crying was going to be a little too hard for Noah to bear. And I console myself that we'll all be reunited (with Baby Appleseed ex utero!) this summer.

And finally, a picture of myself:


I add this not because I think I look exceptionally good here, but because I look so remarkably young.

This is the same baby-faced 19 year old who took a deep breath, a suitcase and the hope of making at least one good friend to that faraway province where I went to university. Of course, it was there that I met my best friends.

I found that 19 year old girl again this week. My Angela and I went walking downtown just the two of us. We took in the harbour, even though it was cold and I had no hat on, we ate a long lunch at a pub. We window-shopped just because.

I never once forgot I was a mom, or a wife. And when we went to pick up Noah from his stay with my mother, I felt relieved to have him run up and hug me because I had actually missed him (and it had only been a few hours). Yet despite him being on my mind, despite feeling little kicks and flutters from a little baby in my womb, I sit back now and think just how much I needed to be young for the day. With Angela. Just Angela and Jenna.

What a beautiful friend she is to me, to make me feel young again. When two babies, a mortgage and the constant urge to bake bread or learn how to knit have made me a lot older.