Today I'm waiting by my phone and checking Facebook like it's my job. I'm waiting on the word that my precious friend Melanie has given birth to twin girls!
While I'm waiting, I'm just overcome with memories as I think back to my friendship with Melanie and I decided to share.
I met Melanie as a freshman in College. She was on my intramural soccer team. I remember walking to practice with her and asking her how she hurt her leg. (it was purple up and down). She calmly replied that it was a birth mark! My bad!
Before I went to college, I never had a close friend other than my family. It was in college, that I formed very close friendships with four other girls. Melanie was one of them.
When we met, I thought Melanie was very rough around the edges. A military brat, and the only girl in her family, she was complete opposite of me. She was rough and tough, tall, and she didn't take crap from anyone. I was emotional, girly, dramatic...but we loved each other.
I have had the privilege of watching Melanie grow before my eyes. From that rough and tumble tom boy...to today...the mom of two girls! And everything in between:-)
The first time we bonded was our first spring break trip to her grandmother's house in Clearwater, Florida. That trip was quite the time. It involved: nasty breakups, skinny dipping during the day, her grandmother removing her bra at dinner, a REALLY bad sunburn, Melanie removing thousands of splinters from my really badly sunburned tush, lots of talking, and a terrible 12 hour ride home when Melanie decided to drive on the highway for the first time...at 4 in the morning. It also involved Melanie coaching me how to insert a tampon from outside the door. Oh how we bonded!
In college I saw Melanie transform into a woman. My friends and I taught her how to accessorize (and now she is the queen!), we taught her it was ok to show emotions, it was ok to not be hard. She transformed in those four years into a beautiful, confident, loving, caring, feminine but still spunky, God fearing woman.
In college we went through the breakup of who she thought was the love of her life, and the romance of falling in love with who God had for her.
I was in her wedding directly after college (she wasn't in mine since I got married in college and hadn't become as close by then).
I remember on the night before her wedding, we were goofing around and all of a sudden, Melanie looks at me straight in the eye and says,
"If I ever have a baby, I'm giving it to you!"
I watched her work through hard times in her marriage, discovering herself, moving several times (she is now an Army wife instead of an Army brat).
When I was pregnant and sick. I received so many "just because" packages from her filled with maternity clothes, baby things, etc. She is so thoughtful and so encouraging...and yet she doesn't want to receive any glory.
I watched a spark start in her heart the day she held my baby, and just a few months later, she announced she was pregnant!
22 weeks into her pregnancy, I received the shocking news that she wasn't just expecting a girl (she was hoping for one easy boy), but identical twin girls! I was sitting on the steps of the train station in Venice Italy. I screamed like a crazy person and it took me about an hour to believe her!
at 28 weeks, Melanie was diagnosed with pre eclamsia. She's been on bed rest, and in and out of the hospital. A hard thing for someone so active as her. About a week ago, the doctors were ready to deliver at any minute if her blood pressure spiked again. It was then that Ed, part of the 82nd airborne, was told to get ready to be deployed to Haiti. It was a roller coaster of if he could stay or not. Just a few days ago, he was told he could stay, and today they are doing a c-section at 34 weeks exactly to deliver the girls, because of all sorts of medical reasons.
I talked to Melanie last night. She was scared, worried, excited. She was especially worried that she wouldn't get to bond with the girls since they would most likely be in NICU for a few weeks.
Melanie is strong and she is calm. But I hate to see her go through so much with this pregnancy and delivery. I love her so much and I'm just waiting to hear the good news that all three are safe.
I went through Facebook today and took a lot of my favorite pictures of us from it. So enjoy! They are in no particular order!
I've had the privilege to photograph Melanie's engagement, bridal and maternity photos over the years:
An engagement picture I took of Melanie and her now husband and baby daddy, Ed.
Melanie and Ed went to high school together for a couple years. They never talked. One day they reconnected on Facebook (when it first came out) and they've been together ever since. Ed went to West Point and is now in the US Army.
The girl has serious style!
Pregnant with twins!
During my bridal portraits. Melanie came to help hold my veil.
During a 1920's themed dance in college. Mobsters and Mistresses. Guess who was who?
Just a beautiful day at college.
Graduation day!
The fab five
Mel's wedding.
Melanie rocking skinny jeans at her baby shower.
Holding Barclay for the first time. She got the bug...:-)
Yep...and almost a year later....
I got this at goodwill as a joke for her at her lingerie shower.
Melanie goofing around at her lingerie shower.
Christmas one year in college.
Halloween party one year. I was a mermaid and Melanie had to go back to the dorm because of soccer curfew:-(
One of our sorority teas.
My first Christmas as a married lady. This was also in college.
Homecoming one year.
A super hero party in college, I went as Melanie (wearing her soccer jersey and actually, got her in big trouble for it.)
She is my hero though:-)
If you think about it today, please stop and say a prayer for Melanie that the c-section would be smooth, that recovery would be smooth, and that her sweet girls, Eden and Emery are able to breath on their own. And especially that Melanie would be able to bond with them.
Wow, that's incredible that the girls were able to stay in the womb until 34 weeks! Jael was premature at 34 weeks too, but she wasn't a twin. We had to stay in the NICU for two weeks.
ReplyDeletePlease reassure Melanie that there are plenty of chances to bond with her girls. In our hospital, we were able to hold Jael during feedings, either while trying to nurse or even if she was taking milk by her gastro tube. We helped change diapers, take her temperature, and bath her. We were even able to stay a night in the hospital and make sure we could take care of her one whole night (with nurses standing by) by ourselves before we brought Jael home. I hope that Melanie has a great hospital like we did, but let her know that it doesn't hurt to ask what she can do to be involved and get to hold/bond with both girls. Patrick loved to ask to do whatever he could!
Bekah
What a sweet friendship! You are so blessed, both of you. I have a wonderful friend that lives several hours from me. We've been friends for over fifty years. It's a precious friendship. I'm praying for your friends delivery and the blessing of two.
ReplyDeletethank you for visiting junkblossoms. Because you did, I was blessed to read your story. Thank you so much. Pat