Visits

Holly, my cousin from Maryland, came to visit for a week.  She stayed with us and very generously offered to take the majority of the night shifts for taking care of our baby.  It was a relief and helped a great deal in recovering from sleep deprivation.

Below is a picture of Holly holding Gregory.

Holly has three children, two daughters in college and a son in high school.  She has a lot to be proud of as her children are amazing.  Her son, Michael, joined her on this trip to New Orleans.  I was impressed with how much of a gentleman Michael has turned into, holding open doors, being very considerate and thoughtful of his words and reactions.

My cousin and I have been good friends ever since... well, we were babies :)  Our mothers were very close and Holly would come to spend the entire summers with us (summers lasted forever in a child's mind).

It was good to catch up on life, though we typical correspond weekly via email.  We talked about the use of Zoloft and the potential that it could help me past the anxiety of being a first time parent.

Holly surprised me when she said, “I know that if I were to have a child at my age (she’s one year younger than I am), I’d be freaking out!”

I asked, “Why would you freak out?  You’ve raised three children.”

She responded, “I had my three children when I was in my early twenties.  I had a lot more energy back then.  It would be more difficult now.”

This same feeling was confirmed with my mom’s neighbor.  I was walking Gregory in a stroller on my mom’s street and the next-door neighbor, Vicki, came out to greet our son.  Vicki said, “I adopted our daughter when she was a baby and I was in my late thirties.  I totally understand what you are going through.”

It’s nice to know there are women who can relate and I don’t feel so alone about it.  I have to admit, family and friends have really come through for us.  I appreciate it so much.