Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Goodbyes

Goodbye, East Side :(
Goodbye, neighbor Pat & Moogie the dog. Bye horsies. Bye Rose family. Bye 14th street potholes. Goodbye lovely tree lined streets with interesting houses and people.
If you need us we'll be over on the west side, where the trees are young, the houses look alike, the people are more conservative, the stores are chains, and there is no shade. Seriously. None.
But we have a great place with great neighbors so we are grateful for that.

We moved ourselves to the West side yesterday. Thanks to some extremely patient & helpful friends who packed, pushed, pulled, hauled, cleaned, entertained Grace, and organized; we have a lovely new home that looks beautiful unless you open certain closet doors. Otherwise it's fabulous.
Grace is thrilled to have so much running space, multiple play areas, all her toys at once, and easy access to 2 of her favorite people who are our next door neighbors.

One thing missing...Our roommate won't be there. Lately Jamie's been back and forth to Wichita, which ultimately will probably ease the transition for all of us. We have lived together for a little over 3 years... I still vividly remember how I met Jamie, she made some sarcastic comment that cracked me up, and I immediately invited her to come stay on my couch. Together we kicked out the less desirable creepy roommate and that was that.

The look on Jamie's face less than a year later when I came home and announced I was pregnant was priceless. I could see hours of cleaning & reorganizing, sleepless newborn nights, responsibility, cleaning, feeding, cleaning, diapers, crying: all simultaneously flash across her face.

She was a lifesaver throughout the first couple of years of single motherhood. She thought she was just going to crash on "this older lady's" couch (she actually called me that to her family)& ended up at various times serving as wife, nanny, husband, mother, sister, friend. As time went on she hired out to help other Goddesses and friends.

She provided many hilarious moments and was witness to many as well. Walking in to see me hooked up to a breast pump with a squalling infant may be one she could have lived without. She sat in the waiting room with other friends when I had Grace, and was there throughout labor as well. She was there with open arms when I brought Grace home, 4 pounds big, and laid her in "her Jamie's" arms.

She reminded me of the beauty of really bad television, and single-handedly upped the ratings of Lifetime, LMN, MTV, and SOAP: she discovered 90210 and I was so proud. She taught me to love the OC & even to dabble in a bit of One Tree Hill.

There is a significant age difference between us, if I would have had a baby when I was 14 she could have been Jamie. Over the years there have been many remarks made such as "when I was your age", and most recently at the Fray concert "Look, Kalli...there's other people your age here!". None of that has stopped me from most often being the juvenile one between us.

It's been a crazy few years, we've had a great time...many late nights (not too late as she's often narcoleptic after 10) bad tv, coffee, diapers, sharing baby duties. One night Grace was not feeling well, and we were both taking turns holding her because she was so warm (feverish) and cuddly (limp). And then there was the vomit. Repeatedly. And then we all got sick. I remember jumping up as Grace started to throw up on me and running through the house toward the bathroom to get sick, and I deposited Grace dripping with diarrea in Jamie's arms as I shot by She took care of everything cleaned, changed, etc. After everyone was ok for the moment, I looked at her and said "You know what's really funny? That YOU pay ME rent." It was a really bad weekend when she got the sickness as well. We had to call Andy to bring us sprite.


Jamie has become a favorite among many of my friends... She's grown and changed so much over the past few years. I hope I helped with that. I used to think that I was given the opportunity to help someone at a time when she needed it, and of course that was partially true. However, overall, I believe that Jamie walked in to my life to help me every bit as much as I ever helped her.

There will always be a faint Jamie-sized impression on our couch, and definitely in our hearts. I hope for the best for her as I know it's time for her to move on with her own life.

Together we ended up creating a crazy little family unit, and I want Grace to always have her Aunt Jamie to complain to when I get bossy, demanding, cranky, mean, controlling, or over-the-top. Jamie will be able to sympathize.

There will be a BIG Jamie shaped hole in our home/family no matter where we live....and just in case:

I'll always have a couch.

3 comments:

fester said...

fester cries

el.dude said...

Jamie was such a great part of Grace's team...and always will be. We are sad to see her leave and hopeful she won't be gone long. What a good young woman and a great pair you two made right there on east 14th for little Grace!

Great blog and tribute!

Megan Stuke said...

Wahh! Don't go! Who will cut my grass and pull my weeds?? Who will keep Kalli's ADD in check? And mine?

Ah, Aunt Jamie - you're aces.

"I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time . Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult." --E.B. White