Morgan's Visit

4.13.14

     One of my roommates from college named Morgan had planned a trip to come visit us for a little while in April. She lives out in California with her husband and her daughter, Emerson.
      When I had gone through training for my new job last year, I had to travel to Los Angeles, which was only about an hour from Morgan's house. Over the weekends, I would go visit her and her family, which also once included a trip to Malibu and the beach that was amazing. Her family has always treated me like one of their own, and Morgan had a lot of "crunchy" advice for keeping your kiddo as healthy as possible (if you don't get what crunchy means- my sweet roommie is kind of a hippie at heart. She was able to do all homemade baby food when Emerson transitioned to food, and they never once turned on the TV while I was at their house one weekend).
       When we lost Kaitlyn, Morgan had called me when Alex and I were on our way out to El Paso. I just remember that she probably expected me to be a complete mess (we were only a few weeks out at that point), but I was in an okay place that day and wasn't in the mood to cry, so I didn't.
        Anyways, Morgan had planned to do a tour of the US since her sister lives on the East Coast and her husband was out for training for work. We picked them up from the airport on Sunday morning, and I have to tell you how much fun I had listening to Morgan's stories and sharing life with her. Emerson took some time to warm up to us, which was absolutely fine, but in the end she gave lots of hugs and kisses to both me and Alex when she left. Emerson is just about to turn 2 at this point, and she was so well behaved and sweet.
       At one point, she decided to bond with Alex something terrible. Alex was grilling out for us and he was in the kitchen cleaning some veggies for the grill when Emerson got a piece of paper and a pen and went and plopped down right next to his leg in order to color. She sat on the ground and was coloring when Alex finally looked down and noticed her.
       "Well hello!" he said happily. "Are you helping me get dinner ready?"
       Emerson just looked at him and grinned, but I could tell that Emerson's love was as welcomed to Alex as it was to me. Just being around other people's kids sometimes helps (sometimes not, if all the parent can do is complain about their kids' behavior), and Emerson with her bright blue eyes and blonde hair was just what we needed to be around.

       That Tuesday, Morgan and Emerson left for the next leg of their trip. After I dropped them off at the airport, I felt incredibly sad. I'm fairly sure I cried nearly the whole way home just taking in the emptiness of the car that had been so full of life a few hours earlier. Morgan had asked if we could borrow a carseat from someone so she wouldn't have to try to check theirs, and Alex and I had just gone and bought one (since we'll need one eventually anyways, right?). But that carseat with the smashed cheerios in it stayed in my car for a few days after they left. I wasn't ready to take it out. I know that probably sounds weird, but I really enjoyed having that little girl around the house. But eventually, I had to accept that I didn't need a carseat in my car... Not yet, anyways. And Alex put it up in the storage area for me.