Soon to be Dr. Kristen

I've known my friend Robin since grade school, which back in those days in my area meant K-8th grade.  We have stayed in touch through the years and visit each other when we can.  When she had her first child, a daughter, she lived in Missouri, but soon moved back to Indiana about 45 minutes from where I lived.  I was very excited to see the baby and drove up to spend a weekend with the two of them while Robin's husband was out of town.  I really knew nothing about babies at that time.


I was, however, impressed with how much my friend had taken to motherhood, managing feedings and diaper changings while planning a family get-together and mowing her lawn.  I was there to help her with things, but my baby experience was limited to babysitting a few hours as a teenager.  Robin didn't care.  She was damn busy.  I was there to help so she handed Kristen to me and told me I would figure it out and then she changed her clothes and went outside to deal with the yard.



I got to give her a bottle, change her diapers, and stop her fussing by reading to her while she sat in her swing.  I managed, with a bit of help from Robin as she came in and out for water.  I also fell in love.  Kristen was the cutest, and sweetest, little baby I knew.  The fact that she was the daughter of my old and dearest friend made her that much more special.  Before I knew it I was spending as many weekends with her as I could.




When I moved to Florida Robin kept me abreast of Kristen's activities sending me pictures and letters of her milestones.  I hated missing all of the "firsts" in her life, but Robin sent me 5x7 pictures of Kristen that she had taken every three months or so and those pictures were framed and hanging in our apartment on one wall.







Everyone who came into our apartment would ask me if this girl was a relative, and upon finding out that she wasn't, were always perplexed by my admiration and love for a friend's daughter.  I would explain that she was as special to me as my nephew.







And she was.  I would visit them when in Indiana or they would visit me at my parents' house.  They came to Florida to visit me.  I watched this little baby grow into a toddler who scrunched up her nose and blew out when sniffing flowers.  I listened as she babbled as a toddler and then began putting together words and sentences as a little girl.





I worked with her in the water when I could whether it was in lakes in Indiana or Kentucky or the gulf in Florida.  I had promised to teach her how to swim, but didn't get home enough in the warmer months to make sure that happened.  I bought her the gifts I always enjoyed as a kid and watched her blossom into a young student and head off to school.




My parents loved her as much as I did too because they loved Robin who had been such a part of our lives growing up.  There is something about longtime friendships that extend to their children and families as well.  We all counted Kristen as one of ours.  She was just a part of our lives as any family member and we loved her like one.

Years later I had my own children.  By that time Kristen was in double digits in age and she became a little caregiver for my daughters whenever we would see her.  Unfortunately, those times were not as frequent as they had been when Kristen was younger.  As she grew into a teenager I had to rely on phone calls and emails from Robin for updates.  She was a great student and very social and she made her parents proud.



We began seeing more of them when Kristen was in high school and we visited Indiana each summer.  Kristen was busy with work and her friends, but she always took time out to spend time with my daughters.  Both my girls have fond memories of cleaning Kristen's room and being rewarded with old jewelry she no longer wanted.






We were there the summer Kristen packed for her first year at college, stacking boxes of belongings into corners.  She was heading to Purdue University to study in the pharmacy program, and I couldn't believe how time had flown.  We saw her at least every other summer and caught up with her as she ran to and from several jobs and social activities. 

This past Mother's Day Kristen graduated from Purdue after six long years in the pharmacy doctorate program.  Robin texted me a picture of her in her cap and gown and I find myself crying.  Once again those emotions hit me as they did the first time I laid eyes on her as a little baby.  I am so proud of all that she has accomplished in her life.  She is a strong, independent woman who has worked hard to get to where she is today.  I am so very proud of her and so fortunate to have been a part of her life.