Four years ago I left the Department of Health in Minnesota to move to Iowa City. I took the first job I was offered, which was a 50% pay cut and from the get go destined to be a disaster (mainly because the PI of the research lab was a real life narcissist... those are scary if you've ever had the misfortune of working for one). There were a lot of bummer days in that job, but from it came something great. I met a quiet (those that know her will laugh when they read that, but at work she was quiet, I swear), serious person who would turn out to be so alike me in so many ways it no longer surprises us when we eat the same thing for lunch despite being thousands of miles away, or have the same super rare cardiac condition that affects less than 200,000 people in the U.S., or know, by a gut feeling, when the other one is having a bad day and send a text that is simply a heart. Even if we woke up tomorrow and decided we didn't want to be friends I don't think our souls would allow it. We are kind of stuck together in this life (which turns out is an awesome thing because we very much want to be friends forever).
Michelle is ferocious. She is ferocious in how she loves and how she fights and how she thinks. She is the kind of person that leaves you wanting more. More from life, more from people, more from yourself. She inspires others to be kind and gentle and thoughtful. And the world is about a million times better (that is my scientific estimate) because she is in it. These days she isn't so quiet. She speaks directly, and loudly, about the injustices she sees around her. And how awesome is that? What if we all held others accountable for failing to help? For causing harm? For neglecting to consider our actions and how they impact the world around us? I am so proud of her and I admire the crap out of her. So you can imagine how happy I was that she visited this week and spent four days playing with Asher, snuggling Sullivan, and sitting on a couch with me while we talked about life.
So what was originally started as a blog post about a visit turned into an 'ode to an incredible woman'. I can't help it. Today is one of those days where holding back how I feel about people isn't happening. I already told the barista at Barnes & Noble that her haircut is hot, I just wrote a public love letter, what's next? Look out stranger sitting next to me... who knows what I might decide to say to you.
warming up strawberries.
running to the children's museum.
painting with daddy.
asher has officially stopped napping. like totally and completely. by the end of the day this is all he can muster ahead of bath time. that is exactly how i feel too. but i'm a mom so i don't get to lay on the floor in a pile of towels and blankets and wait for someone to peel me off the ground and put me to bed. so unfair. being two must be awesome.
this pukey guy. so what i didn't mention in my ode to Michelle is that she is a nutritionist. and that when she was here sullivan started spitting up more, getting hives, having weird poop, and having a rumble in his bumble pretty much all day. we narrowed it down to a food sensitivity which was confirmed by his pediatrician yesterday morning. we are giving him hypoallergenic formula after each feeding which seems to be helping his belly, and his mama is three days in to a dairy/wheat/soy/egg/corn-free 3-week trial to figure out what it is that tiny little doesn't do well with. i might turn into a coconut before this is over. i am eating so much coconut.
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