Basically, I'm a one-blog kind of gal. And last November, my friend Judy got very sick. She lived in Charlotte, NC and had spent a lifetime collecting friends from all over the place. And now she was sick. And the last thing you want to do when you are sick and feel sick is talk about being sick. Over and over again. Repeatedly, as you call each friend in your address book.
So, instead of cooking soup, or sending flowers, I offered to start a carepage for her. And I did. And it was a very different type of writing experience. One in which you had to spin everything to the positive when it was really so very negative. It surprises and shocks me still how short lived that blog was, and how abruptly ended.
Judy died on January 4th, and I miss her. Part of my absence from blogging has been from distraction in writing for her, and part has been from the grief of missing her. And I won't deny a little procrastination mixed in.
But this is a life blog. The chronicle of my first child. I'm pleased to share that his life managed to intersect with hers, despite the fact that they only shared this world for 8 months. We traveled to Charlotte in December for 5 days. All she had to say was, "You'd better come now." My mother, saint that she is, tagged along to care for Jonas while I cared for Judy. The sweetest moment was one in which Judy gifted Jonas with a knitted sweater and hat. She'd started the sweater before Jonas was born. Then she broke her right arm, then her left arm. It seemed that the chemo had made her bones so fragile and brittle. Everyone knows you just can't knit with one arm. So she asked her wonderful friend Barb to finish the project for her. And here we all are, with Jonas modeling his new digs.
Judy is in the center and Barb is on the left.
While in Charlotte, Jonas got to spend some time with his Aunt Desi (who drove up from Atlanta) and his Nonnie. He also visited the Briggemans: Erin, Todd, and Putter. I think they should send out this photo as their 2009 xmas card, just to see what kind of phone calls it would generate....
After spending Thanksgiving in Kansas City with Ed's mom, brother and family (why don't I have any pictures of that?), we traveled to Louisiana for Christmas at Nonnie's place. Here are some photos of the trip, including a visit with the Scotts, a bath in the sink, and Jonas' first Santa suit, a gift from Nonnie.
Since Christmas, Jonas has had two sets of visitors: friends Brian, Lauren, and Ainsley drove in from Cincinnati. And then he spent the weekend with his two aunts, Desi and Tara. We are waiting on photos from Brian, but here's one with his two aunts:
That's Tante Desi on the left and Tante Tara on the right.Whew! Now that I look back at the past two months, I understand why I'm just now getting around to blogging!
Maybe tomorrow I'll get a few minutes to get online and share about daycare, playgroups, and RSV! But for now, I hear the boy crying and need to see to him.
