Bye Bye Jack

My little buddy Jack that I've been babysitting since he was a month old had his last day with me as his babysitter. He just left a few minutes ago and it's hard to imagine my house without him. He's been around most all of Rachel's life and she asks about him a lot. Every time we pass the room where he naps, she says, "Is Jack asleep?" even if it's on a weekend day or some other time than nap time. She'll definitely miss her friend.

A lot has changed over the past couple of years.....


This little guy has been such a blessing. Mike and I were friends with his parents during the last few months of his mom, Mindy's, pregnancy with him. Mindy and I decided that I would keep Jack after she went back to work from maternity leave. I hung out with her on a Thursday night and called to leave a message Friday night and she didn't return my call. I thought that strange because she was usually very good about calling me back. I found out Saturday morning that she'd gone into labor Friday and during her labor had an amniotic fluid embolism and passed away before they could take Jack via c-section. She was one of those kinds of people that EVERYONE loved. She was the sweetest soul on earth. It was my privilege to have been friends with her. And an even bigger privilege to care for the child she never got a chance to meet. That has always been in the back of my mind where Jack has been concerned. I know that if something like that happened to me, I would want only the best caretaker for my child. I've tried to be that for Jack.

And now that he's headed to preschool next week, I can just pray that the ladies that care for him there will love him. I have no doubt they will. I'm sure we'll still see him since they live in the same town, but as we all know, it won't be the same. It's sad for me to think of not getting sweet hugs and kisses from him and hearing him FINALLY start to say things we can understand. I know ultimately this will be a good thing for him, but for today, I'm sad that my little guy has gone. And sad all over again about losing my friend.