When we first found out that my parents would be serving a three year mission, I remember my sister saying to me, "If I have a baby while they are gone will you come out and help me?" Of course I said, "Yes!" and even offered to be her doula, but for some reason she never took me up on that part.
When Curtis and Candace went to Argentina to see my parents last year I had agreed to watch their son Reed. We figured out the dates and felt like it was far enough from Alli's due date that I would be able to go be with her and then come home to watch Reed. As time got closer to Candace and C-bug's departure date, and Bubby was still a beautiful prego, it was looking like I would not be able to be with Alli until after they returned and Elle would be a couple of weeks old. As plan B, I figured out a date that I could fly out once Curtis and Candace returned home, and then they would help watch the boys so that I could go be with Bubby.
Well, the more evident it became that I would not be there right after the delivery, the more I was starting to lose sleep. My mind would race at night. I had once felt peaceful about going to Alli's after my brother's trip to Argentina, but now I felt like I needed to get out to Utah sooner after the birth rather than later. I called Candace and expressed my thoughts and we came up with a plan that when they left to Argentina, I would fly a few days later to Utah with my nephew Reed.
Reed would go to his wonderful Grandma Denise's house, and I would go be with Bubby, Sam and Elle. After my time there, I would fly back home to AZ with Reed and continue watching him until his parents returned. It was a crazy plan that involved a lot of details from everyone, but once it was made I was able to sleep again at night!
It was such a treat to cuddle my newborn niece and to see my little sister as a new mom.
I also had a fun time with my RooBear. He was a great travel companion!
What no one was expecting was that my mom would have a stroke while Curtis and Candace were in Argentina. Soon the pieces to this big puzzle began to make sense. The Lord had put so many of us in different places for a reason. What a blessing it was that Curtis, Candace, and my niece Charlotte were with my parents for the days leading up to the stroke, and when it happened. What a blessing that Denise and I were able to be with Reed.
Two weeks after my mom had her stroke I was on a plane to Buenos Aires so that I could be there as she began her rehabilitation. It was while I was waiting for my plane out of Phoenix that I had realized it was also the day in my, "plan B," that I would have been arriving in Utah to be with my sister. I am so grateful I was prompted to change my plan B (even though it meant a lack of sleep :)), and that so many people were willing to change their schedules to make it happen. Alli being accepting of my crazy schedule, Denise taking off work to watch Reed, Candace listening to my concerns and being up for making it work without any hesitation. And of course TRay, he's the quiet supporter through all of my craziness every day! Had I stuck with plan B, it probably would have been over 2 months after Elle's birth that I would have arrived in Utah. I don't know that me being there really made much of a difference in my sister's recovery, but it meant so much to me to be there and to try to help her like my mom would have. As I waited to board the plane to Buenos Aires, I felt blessed and grateful that I had already had that opportunity.
I wanted to record this lengthy series of events as a reminder that our Heavenly Father is aware of all of our needs. He knows more than us. He loves each one of us. And also, that family bonds are one of the best things ever created.
Happy First Birthday Eleanor Rae! I am so proud to be your aunt!
