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| Peggy, me, and Lisa New Hampshire, 1989 |
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| Peggy, little Kyle, and me |
Peggy already had a son, Kyle, who was not quite two; therefore, she was full of wisdom. I loved watching her with Kyle. She was calm and loving, quick to laugh, quick to teach, and quick to compliment. She made me feel confident about the adventure I was about to embark on; heck, she made me feel confident about the journey I was on. Most of all, she loved being a mom, and she loved being pregnant, just as I did.
It's pretty special being able to share your pregnancy with special ladies! Lisa was due at the end of June/the first part of July, but she went early with Michael. I was due the first part of July and gave birth to you, Aly, on July 6th. Peg came to visit me in the hospital and, unbeknownst to her, she was in labor, even though she was not due for a a week or two. She gave birth to Brett the day after you were born, Aly, on July 7th.
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| Lisa and Michael, Peg and Brett, me and Aly, 1990 |
After you babies were born, we mommies and you babies got together pretty often to play. The pictures above and to the right depict one such play date on a beautiful spring day in Dover, NH. You three really enjoyed each others' company and, I have to say, the days when all of us would meet were some of my happiest.
Today, I met my forever-friend, Peg, after not seeing her since August of 1990. That is when Pease Air Force Base (AFB) closed down and your dad left to find us a home in Sumter, South Carolina, home of Shaw AFB. We, and Jay, who was "baking in the oven," would meet him in October. Seeing Peggy today was one of the most wonderful moments of my life. Imagine losing someone so important to you and being reunited after years of wondering if that could even be possible. We met at Olive Garden in Biddeford, Maine. On first sight of her I wanted to bawl, just bawl, but I did not want to waste time crying! I wanted to stare at her and listen to her voice. The sight and sound of her brought me back 23 years, and it was if all time melted away. The Olive Garden was not scheduled to open until 11:30, so we climbed into the back of her van. She showed me Christmas ornaments I'd forgotten I'd sent to her in 1991. I remembered she sent us Petite Fours at Christmas for years. She patiently listened as I told her how your dad and I broke up, and asked me a million questions about you, Aly, and you, Jay, and you, Dom. I listened excitedly as she shared with me all the successes Kyle and Brett have earned, and I reveled in the pride obvious in her voice and in her expressions. My heart welled as she described what a wonderful husband and father Bruce has been for 27 years. We laughed at the many memories we packed into our short visit....like yours, Brett's, and Michael's first birthday party, Al, with all the moms and babies from our prego exercise class. (I think we had to put a couple of babies, including you, into the bathtub! From the blue on your face, I think you fearlessly dug into your cake! I remember Brett gingerly poking the very tip of his finger into his cake and Kyle howling with laughter...it's on video tape somewhere...precious!)
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| Exercise class moms and their babies celebrate Brett, Michael's and Aly's first birthday! |
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| 1990...but many more years ahead! |
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