My two mommies at Panera

     I went to lunch with my BFF and her little one today.  We don't get to do this very often as our schedules and illnesses and snowstorms and tornadoes....well, you get the picture.  We're busy.  It was easy when Jenne and I worked full-time together and somehow didn't get enough of each other and had to hang out after work as well.  It was slightly harder when there was one kid, a tad bit tougher after two and now with three it's a true conundrum. 
     Let's rewind a bit.  When I came to work late because I was dry heaving for hours every morning...Jenne was the one who covered for me.  As we walked about out in public she would walk a few paces in front of me with warnings of when to hold my breath for fear of an offensive odor evoking some more of those dry heaves.  She yelled at me if I didn't drink enough water and guarded my sugar and caffeine ingestion.  Oh, and did I mention she was even at the birth of baby number two.  Needless to say, we are close.  Closer than a sister.  I say that because a sister is someone you are stuck being related to and Jenne has always been a choice.  A sought out, missed when away from, one of my favorite people ever - CHOICE.
    When two people bond over things like diabetes tests and sonogram results it is only natural to also be a part of the first steps, birthday celebrations, music recitals and trick-or-treating.  For a bit there if you saw Jenne - you saw me and if you saw me - Jenne was a few paces behind.  Usually, there was a kid or two in tow.  It was at a rather comical Chuck E Cheese party when we realized people had been seeing a ton of us together.  You can't miss us.  We are the ones giggling until tears are flowing.  We are busting out in accents, funny voices and hysterical faces.  We dance, do the robot and fall.  We drop things, never miss a funny sound and watch flying potatoes.  We were tied to one another.  People would watch us...not really sure of the relationship.  We don't look like sisters.  We were rarely with the boys.  We were always together.  We started to joke about "My Two Mommies".   All joking aside if we looked like a happy loving family I didn't care what the old close minded folk thought...if anyone finds love and laughter in this world good for them!!!
     It has been a bit since we've shared our my two mommies moments.  But today during an impromptu lunch date we found ourselves in a booth at Panera with a yellow haired girl in her high chair.  We giggled and shared stories.  We listened to the whimsy of a 2 yr old.  It felt nice to be back.  Little Greta must have felt the love too as she started to hold my hand.  Then her mother's.  Then she placed our hands together and requested that we hold them.  "And there it is...my two mommies".  We laughed once again. 
     I would watch relationships that women had on television or in the movies.  They could pop in at a moment's notice for coffee.  They knew the ins and outs of their lives.  They were there for births and deaths and all the precious and ordinary moments in between.  I didn't think it was possible and am so very grateful to have it.  I know not to serve cauliflower if she comes for dinner and she knows not to get me root beer to go with the popcorn we eat on tv night.  She gets me to ride the Scrambler and I encourage her when she merges onto 80.  We have been there for each other for things too heavy to mention in a little old blog post.    I could go on and on about her but she's already probably mad for going on this long.  So TO JENNE...a list of some of our favorite  moments:
 1.  A smudge from a flying flip flop
 2.  Poetry stones
 3.  Dinosaur chairs
 4.  Ikea -"she needs ze bibs"
 5.  Flying potato
 6.  Mother Goose post potato
 7.  "I think Jenne just fell" DB
 8.  light ball
 9.  $7.13
10.  "this tastes like steak"

Jenne, for all the times you helped me with my sandwich ( and I don't just mean my pork roll, egg and cheese) thank you.  May every girl find a friend like you to grow up and old with...