On Saturday, Nora woke from her nap crying. Ben brought her to me and we lay in bed for awhile, she was comforted just by laying next to me. “I am a great mom!” I thought. “This little girl only needs me near to make her feel better, that’s how much she loves and trusts me.”
She started squirming a bit and fussing again. She murmured something unintelligible. Then cried harder. She murmured again.
The third time it was clear, “I want to go to Nana’s.”
Who is this Nana, you ask? Nana is my secret weapon. All of you have been reading this blog, thinking what I terrific parent I am; I’m here to tell you, it would be much harder to do what I do without this woman. Her name is Sandi, she lives across the street — and she is my dear friend.
When I need a prescription picked up, Sandi gets it. When I don’t water the plants in my front yard, Sandi does it. When I am exhausted and burnt out, I come home to find Sandi has done all my laundry. When I need a good cry, she listens and offers big hugs.
When toddler antics have me at my wit’s end, Sandi welcomes Nora into her home. They eat popcorn, put on lip gloss and snuggle. Nora adores her Nana. At the peak of her clingy stage, she would still happily go to Nana.
Before you get all jealous I must tell you the sad, horrible, awful news. Sandi is moving.
She suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and the wet, cold winters (and springs) here are truly miserable for her. She’s finally headed for Arizona, where she has less pain and more energy in the warm dry climate. I am happy for her; I would never want to her suffer. But I will miss her so. And I can’t bear to think how Nora will make the adjustment. Nana across the street is a fact of life.
When Nora told me she wanted to go to Nana’s, we peeked out the dining room window to see if Nana’s truck was in the driveway. It was, so I called her. When she answered, Nora asked if she could come over. Sandi told her that she was watching a movie and would love to have her over in an hour when it was finished. Nora began to wail. I told Sandi not to worry, “Finish your movie, we can wait.”
I brought Nora to the sofa and reassured her that Nana wanted to see her, she just wanted to wait until her movie was over so she could really concentrate of playing. As I was wiping away some tears I looked up. Sandi was coming across the street. She appeared at the door and asked Nora if she wanted to come over. “Boop Boop and I want to see you right now! Our movie can wait, you’re more important than any old movie, Nana would never want to break your heart!”
There will be many phone calls to AZ and many tears shed, by all of us. Nana’s presence will be dearly missed, but her love will be felt forever.