Undying Gratitude

In the beginning, there was me.

With three babies.

Cindy Lynn was an amazing help.

Jason tried to help too,

as did Josh.

Russ was there for the nights and weekends.  And of course he was amazing.

But it was still overwhelming.

And we were exhausted.

Things were going to pot.  (Sorry--just couldn't resist that picture!)

It's been long enough that I don't remember how it started--but sometime after the triplets turned one Brenda started babysitting for me every Friday.  It was bliss.  For one day every week I could escape from my house and my life.  I took Cindy Lynn to her violin lesson and slept on a bench outside the door while she played.  I did the grocery shopping.  I have no idea what else that I did.  What I do remember is that while I was gone Brenda was playing with my kids, taking them for walks in the neighborhood (with her baby too!), and still smiling at the end of the day.  I would come back from my escape a little refreshed and ready to take on my job again.

Brenda and her husband became dear friends.  During the infamous ice storm of 2002 they were one of the families that came and stayed at our house for a week.  She taught us to play Speed Scrabble, a game we still play all of the time.

Brenda kept coming even after she had another baby.  She would walk down to the park with all 5 kids using the triplet stroller, a backpack, and holding one hand.  It was unbelievable.

Brenda and Peter babysat for us when we took the older kids to Disney World to celebrate having survived the triplet's first 18 months.  They babysat again when Russ and I escaped on a short cruise the next year. 

We were so sad when Peter graduated from Law School and they moved.  (Though we realize that they were happy to have more of an income than the babysitting gig!)

A few weeks ago Brenda emailed to say that they were going to be in town this weekend.  We were so excited to see them again.  Russ made them mexican food and we played speed scrabble, just like old times.

I will never be able to thank Brenda enough for the service she gave me.  I learned after she left that not many people were interested in babysitting triplets, and it was a while before I found another babysitter.  Thankfully, she had gotten me through the roughest time.

I hope that one day I will be able to make the kind of difference in someone else's life that Brenda made in mine.  And I also hope that there is someone there for her like she was for me.

I will be thanking Brenda forever.