I have been reflecting on the amazing new friends I have made in the past two years and keep coming back to one person in particular. On April 5, 2011 I got the best email from a virtual stranger. I had emailed this person asking if she had space for us in an upcoming Hypnobabies class. On April 5 she said yes. I was excited, sent our deposit, and waited. On May 6, our first night of class, we met Julie. She was no longer a stranger. She was kind, excited, and had this energy that put us at ease immediately. We thought we had signed up to take a simple no-strings attached 6-week birthing class. Instead we met some amazing parents and parents-to-be, and we met Julie. Julie is one of those people who serve with their whole heart and in the case of her profession (doula), her whole body. We were so honored to learn from her in our birthing class and to have her attend the birth of our son as our doula. She kept us calm, told stories, ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with us, corralled the hospital staff when they wouldn’t check on us, took pictures of the whole day (Julie- my biggest regret of the day is that we have no pictures of you with our newly expanded family), helped us in those first moments of breastfeeding, and so much more. Never once during all of our hours of interactions with Julie did we feel she was “in it for the money”. She was our friend. Still I wasn’t sure if after our birth that friendship was supposed to end or if it could continue. I worry about that kind of stuff.
I am so thankful and blessed that we are still friends. I have been trying to write her a thank you note since the birth of our son, 17 months ago, but haven’t been able to put into words what she means to me. She helped us bring our son into the world with a confidence many first time parents don’t get to feel, she helped us survive those early weeks of parenting and breastfeeding, she helped me find people to connect with in my new role as a stay-at-home mama, and this weekend she entered my dessert competition when I didn’t have enough entries. How do you thank someone for something like that?
I still don’t know how to thank her for offering me the spot in her Hypnobabies class in the Spring of 2011 and everything that has come since. I hope that in the future I will have the opportunity to show her how much I value her friendship.
I hope that you have someone in your life for whom you are thankful today!