It's Not Goodbye

A few weeks ago we spent a special evening with one of our most favorite people.  Brigit has been a big part of our little family for the past three years.  While we are super excited for her to be graduating college and moving on to a new chapter in her life, we are so very sad that she won't be a weekly or even monthly part of our lives.

I remember the first time Brigit set foot in our house.  I had hosted a little Halloween party that day for some of Kinley's little friends.  Brigit stopped by so that I could meet her and feel out if she would be a good fit for us.  Kinley was just barely a year old and I had yet to leave her in the care of anyone but family.   Not to mention the fact that we now had three kids and who in the world would be crazy enough to volunteer for that!   I knew almost immediately that Brigit was going to be unique.   She was wise beyond her years and was not the least bit ruffled by the fact that Kinley would cry at first whenever I left her in Brigit's care.   I remember one of the first times I left them together.  When I returned home I couldn't find Brigit.  I could see on the baby monitor that Kinley was sleeping but where on earth could Brigit be?  I finally tracked her down to the rocking chair in Kinley's room where she was studying during Kinley's nap.

Brigit quickly became a valued "big

sister" to McKenna.  They both bonded over all things Harry Potter and Hunger Games and the rest is history.   I can tell McKenna trusts Brigit and generally loves having her around.   Cooper has always been over the moon about her.   He loves that she teaches him soccer and comes to his basketball games.   This past winter we returned to find him curled up in Brigit's arms burning up with a fever.    He was feeling really crummy with a terrible strep infection but just kept telling us about how Brigit took good care of him.  

Over the years we have enjoyed watching Brigit's soccer games and sharing meals with her family when they came to town.    They are delightful people - the kind who bring homemade baked goods and send me texts on Mother's Day.    We are going to miss them, too.
We are back to being without a babysitter and there is no plan in place yet to replace her.   Quite honestly, I don't think she really can be replaced.   There is a lot to be said for finding someone like Brigit with whom you can trust your most precious little people.   There is no doubt in my mind that she was always supposed to be ours.  That she was never supposed to leave Bucknell as she had wanted to because she was homesick.   We were always meant for eachother and we were a perfect fit. A few days before graduation I took Brigit to lunch, just the two of us.  It was a first for us to be able to sit and talk without kids clamoring for our attention.  We ate and talked and ate and talked and talked and talked.   Before we left I thanked her for all that she has done for our family over the past three years.  From babysitting to house sitting to dog sitting, she has filled in whenever and wherever we needed her.  I also told her that my prayer is that someday when she has babies of her own that someone special will come into her life;  someone she will come to call a friend, who will allow her to work, allow her precious time with her husband or time to volunteer in her sons classroom.  I hope that she will understand that she was never "just the babysitter" and that we will always remember the gift that she has been to us.
I have no doubt that we will continue to keep in close touch.   She and the kids have already been hatching plans for Disney vacations and trips to Boston.   We look forward to all of those things as well as watching as Brigit embarks on this next phase of life.  After all, it's not goodbye, just see you soon!