Lives End, Lives Begin

I talked to my dear friend, Leslie on Friday night. Les and I have known each other since we met at the school-bus stop in 1981. She was starting grade 1 and I was in grade 2. We played in the puddles all through the fall and then the snowbanks throughout the winter. We only hung out at the bus stop throughout elementary school. I did go to the same summer camp as her in about 1986, but that was only for a week. I have the funniest photo series of her falling out of her bunk and laying on the floor (she posed for the shots, but she did fall out one night, I believe).

I didn't know her very well, but when I was in grade 9 and she was in grade 8, we took the same bus after school and walked the same route home together every day. It was a 2 km walk and it almost always took us about an hour. We were really good at lollygagging.

We were fast friends and kindred spirits. We would go to my house after school (I was the latch-key kid) where we would read Calvin and Hobbes and drink Brown Cow chocolate syrup straight from the bottle. We philosphized about Bill Watterson's brilliant mind and had many grand adventures together. Over the years, Les became part of my family and vice verse.

When she called me on Friday night I told her that my grandfather had gone into the hospital. She had met my grandparents many times over the years, so I was glad to talk to her about the situation. Then I asked about Sara. She said she wasn't sure she should talk to me about Sara after hearing about my grandfather. I told her that I really wanted to know all about Sara. Lives end and lives begin.

This little life began on September 1st. She weighed 8lbs 9oz. Meet Sara-Genevieve. She'll be the tiny model for the Debbie Bliss purple cardigan that I knit this spring. Welcome to the world, baby girl.

If you have a moment, please, pop over to Leslie's blog and congratulate my dear friend on the birth of her 3rd child. Just so you know, Leslie is a true champion in my eyes - Sara made her way into the world in under 5 hours and, unfortunately for Les, arrived so quickly that there were no fun prescription drugs involved in her birth at all. This will certainly earn Leslie some points in the mommy bragging pool. I think, however, that asking for morphine for purely recreational reasons AFTER the baby has been born may bring her down a couple of notches.