A New Baby in My Life Brings Love and Nostalgia

This Article Was Written Oct. 2, 2014

We have lived together, and we have been neighbors twice. Beyond that, Crystal and I have also maintained a solid and meaningful friendship for the past nine years. That makes Crystal my longest, most consistent friend. Crystal, like me, comes from a family of three sisters, so it makes sense that we both don't require a lot of female friends outside of our dramatic (and fun!) sister circles.

When we met many years ago we were quite different. She was way punk rock, and I was a cheerleader trying to fit into her crowd now and again. We eventually fell in love over our passions for writing, rum, horror movies, talking and overall being ridiculous teenagers. Today, I found myself sitting at the foot of her hospital bed, staring lovingly as her sleeping newborn laid nested in my arms. There is nothing like the birth of your best friend's baby to stir up your nerves and emotions.

Waiting impatiently as Violet's mother brought her into this world, I began to ruminate on my personal birth experience (once again). Charlotte was less than eight pounds a little over seven months ago. However, it seems like a lifetime ago. She was only bite-size for a quick glimpse of time. Now she is sitting, waving, talking, crawling, eating solid foods . . . Cha is ready to take over the world.

I remember laying in my hospital bed, following our countless visits by family, friends and nurses. Charlotte was beside me in the baby cradle, while Josh was passed out on the pull-out. Awake, alert and calm at only a couple hours old, she was sucking on her hand and staring back at me. I couldn't help but smile, noticing how much she resembled a newborn picture I had always cherished of myself that I found in my parents' old pictures.

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Congratulations to my close friends on the arrival of their sweet baby girl. Violet is not only the light of your lives . . . every morning you wake up next to her will be a euphoric testament to the commitment and love that you as a couple has had for almost a decade.