The Picture

Snap. There it is stored on a camera not even downloaded yet and I can see myself, as a fifty year old lady, looking at it in a scrapbook reminiscing.
August 26, 2008 the day Ashley holds her second son. My childhood friend and confidant has another child not two months after I had Tori. Her first child is only 6 months younger than Bella. These kids will know each other very well and play for years to come.
To me, Ashley is the friend who never betrayed me or my trust. The girl I fought over boys with and shared the most embarrassing moments with. The girl that grew into a woman with me and knows me so well because she was there when I was learning who I was. These are our good ole days. The weddings are over, the pregnancies successful and, now, the children are born. Those childhood dreams are now life and they come with deep responsibility and we are not afraid because we have each other. This provides me with great comfort. I now have company in the land of those with two small children. I have someone to understand my frets before I even utter them.
Joshua Wayne is beautiful and healthy. He stands as the last child that any of my friends may ever have. Some friends are struggling with their husbands or reproductive luck and that picture may be the end of an era. The pregnant era. One that will be missed for all it's events both bad and good. The phenomena of not remembering the bad happens with that as well as childbirth. These thoughts bring tears to my eyes. I am afraid that we are changed. Changed by our kids. We no longer live for us. They are the world and we get up in the morning for them. We work until our fingers bleed for them and we will not have ourselves back for the next 18 years. Though tears fall, they fall on a smile and with great pride.
We did this.
And, girlfriend, we did it well.
Congratulations to Ashley and Artie. Enjoy your gorgeous new baby.