A Match Made in Heaven

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The Future Mr. and Mrs. Jensen!

After about getting sick one morning during Nuclear Engineering (Fall Semester of 2010) and having not told anyone except for my insurance company and Erik that we were pregnant (with Alyssa), I decided to tell Anna, my engineering comrade. So I told her. 

The next day she told me that she was pregnant, too! And so our story began. 

Alyssa and I took a little drive over to Knoxville, TN to visit Anna and her baby, James. It didn't take long before Alyssa and James started to remember that they already knew each other from heaven and that they should play nicely together. 

We had fun-filled days together eating ice cream, playing with toys, making blankie huts, going to splash pads, walking, running, talking, watching the Olympics, and playing at parks. The visit was bitter-sweet. We loved being together (especially Anna and I) but we realized how sad it is that we must live so far away from one another. 

Being the mother of one child is probably the easiest time to be a mother, but sometimes it feels like the hardest. When babies aren't napping, what do you do with them? When they throw a tantrum, how do you handle it? Is it ok to let them eat ice cream off the sidewalk? Will I make it through one more day sitting on the floor watching them play for 2 hours? {Those of you who have several kids and feel very busy and overwhelmed may be tempted to scoff at that question. You probably long for those days, and I know I will one day long for those days again, too. But just remember what it was like when you only had one and how it felt to be with him or her day in and day out with only your self-talk to keep you company.}

All of these questions come up and, probably, some more than once. Being away from home AND away from Delaware, the summer has been mighty hard, a tad bit lonely, and a little anxiety-inducing at times. It was so nice to be with Anna and talk and play and have a friend, another only toddler, to entertain my only toddler. And another adult to talk with and let my self-talk quiet down for awhile. 

I am grateful we could take the trip while we are down here in the delightful South. That trip was definitely one (of many) good things about coming to North Carolina.