Gingerbread and One Little Angel

Yesterday, after school at 2:50, we got on the road for our friday night adventure. Try not to be jealous of my friday night blast! (Haaaaaaa) First, we went to pick up the Christmas pictures that we had taken at the end of November. They turned out really well. Then we headed to my sisters house to make gingerbread houses. It only took 4 hours to get to my sisters house with no plans to stay overnight, so by the time we got there at 7:05pm, I realized that I have to turn around to do the same thing after the fun time we were having. The houses were fun, although the kids attention span was close to a microsecond. They were more interested in putting on a Christmas play for us, or playing dress up.

We ended up getting home a bit before midnight. Juliana slept the whole way home, although it took Kevin about an hour to fall asleep.

I am exhausted, especially with Juliana's birthday party this afternoon. So much to do, so little time.
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Maybe this is an odd thing to mention today. December 13 is the birthday of Baby B (I will not mention her real name). If you went to college with me, I know you would remember the baby I am talking about. A little background, without giving too much information. She was 9 months old when I cared for her. A professor of mine owned a small private school in the area, and asked if anyone would be willing to volunteer for a special needs baby on a daily basis. I jumped at the chance to do it.

jumping ahead... When I arrived to meet "B", she looked like any other baby, just teeeeeny tiny. I was told she was blind, her heart stopped on a regular basis, and she needed to be watched every minute of every day. I was a naive college kid at the time, and took care of her as I would any other child. I later found out that she was born without a brain stem, and would likely die any day, any week, any time.

I cared for "B" for 7 weeks, until the school told the parents that her care was too much for them to handle. I remember when her parents picked her up for the last time. I was a sobbing mess. The snotty, dripping tears mess. I knew that I would never see her again. I was right. My professor contacted me in 2002 and mentioned that Baby B had died. She was 5 years old (almost 6) when she earned her angel wings. I think of her a lot. Her pictures are in my teaching portfolio. I love telling her story and showing her off in my arms as much as I possibly can. Such an angel. "B" would have been 12 years old today.