My Sweet Thursday Friend

Amelia was born in June, 2007. Her Mommy and I became friends while working in the scrapbook store together. When it was time for Bethanie to return to her "real job", she had childcare all arranged except for Thursdays. I offered to be the Thursday person and that worked out good with everyone's schedule. It had been a long, long time since I had babies around and at first it was a real learning experience. So many new conveniences to learn about! I had never even had a pack & play with my kids. (I should note here that Bethanie is the same age as my children, in fact we discovered quite by accident, that she had graduated high school with my youngest son!) At first, Amelia slept alot as new babies do so I didn't have to do much except feed and change her and give lots of kisses. As she got older and her skills increased, we were able to do many more things. We took walks, read lots of books, sang songs and explored our house. I looked forward to and cherished my time with my Thursday friend!

I rarely had Amelia for the entire day on Thursday because her Nana lived close by and would pick her up after her (Amelia's) afternoon nap. But from 7:30-2 we had a fun time and developed a certain pattern of activities and a loving relationship. I have learned that you surely don't have to have a bloodline connection to someone to love them like your own family. This is true with Amelia and Bethanie, too!

Amelia loved to "help out" in my studio or play with my bears and dolls.

She loved to read and had a favorite book, a pop-up book, titled The Zoo. We read it every day, at least twice, before her morning nap.David & I encouraged Amelia to broaden her skills. She loved to dust with the Swiffer...and she also helped "D" (her name for David) haul the trash out to the curb....child labor laws, did someone say anything about child labor laws???? (You know this was just a joke for the photos-right?)

And of course there was Edith, the squirrel, who came every day for peanuts at the back deck door.Earlier this Spring, Bethanie and her husband decided that Amelia needed to be around other children during the day. Two weeks ago, Amelia started going to a daycare center near their home. The change would mean much less travelling for Bethanie and an opportunity for Amelia to be with other small people. Of course we supported this decision 100% but when we knew that our days were numbered, David & I were both sad. I'm writing this blog post to share with Bethanie and you, my friends, some pictures I took over the 19 months that Amelia came on Thursdays.

We miss that sweet, sleepy little face early in the morning. We miss our dishwasher door filled with alphabet or animal magnets. We miss singing and dancing and getting the Cheerios from the pantry for a snack. We miss reading about Grandpa and the pizza and playing with the farm animals. We hope you come and visit us often, because we don't want you to forget Auntie Joyce and Uncle D.

We love you Amelia, Thursday friend. Don't grow up too fast! XOXO