It takes a village

Note to readers: Chris hasn't taken me out to a romantic comedy for a while so all my mushy feelings have been pent up inside me. Yes, I'm feeling a little sentimental. Since I have been told that our blog causes nausea anyway, I decided to go all out on this one. J, if you are reading this, try not to throw up on your screen.

Today, we had a minor medical emergency, and I was reminded once again what a wonderful community the Foreign Service is.

While I was preparing Benjy's favorite delicacy of only the finest Kraft Macaroni and Cheese today, Benjy decided to test the laws of nature and mommy and touch the red hot burner. His finger blistered immediately with a burn worse than I had ever had to treat. I rushed him to the bathroom sink and ran cool water over it, and thus exhausted my nursing knowledge. With a screaming Benjy in tow, I grabbed my cell phone and called the first person I could think of, my friend D, who recently graduated from nursing school and is now one of my best friends here in Falls Church. D told me to put Benjy's hand in a bowl of ice water, and she darted off to the drug store to get burn spray. Twenty minutes later, she was knocking on my door, our hero, armed with burn spray and M & Ms, all with a preschooler at her heels. She doctored Benjy's finger and soothed his pain with candy, and he was feeling much better.

This episode was just the latest in a long list of neighborly acts of kindness I have been the recipient of since Chris joined the Foreign Service. From the moment I arrived in Virginia, nervous and hugely pregnant, the women here have made me feel completely at home. There was L who gave me her number the first time I met her just in case the baby came early and who watched Benjy for me during all my prenatal visits. And N who coordinated meals for over a week and who has watched Benjy for me so many times lately that I've lost count. And all eight of those ladies that brought me meals after my mom left. And M who took Jacob to the bus for me every morning for 8 weeks straight. And another L who would picked Jacob up from the bus at a moments notice whenever I would underestimate the time needed for my excursions or I would get lost because I ignored my GPS. Thank you ladies. Your kindness will never be forgotten.

I left my home and family in North Carolina 6 years ago when Jacob was just seven months old. Since then, I've made wonderful friends in Carbondale and Springfield, Ill. and Monroe, Ga., and I always had someone to help me in my time of need. But without my family, I always felt mostly on my own, especially right after we would move. It always took me a few months to find a routine and make lifelong friends. Incredibly, the Foreign Service expedites that process. Here I feel like I have at least 10 sisters all looking out for me and loving my kids. I'm told that anywhere we go in the world, I will find the same sense of community. I hope the stories are true, because now that I've found it, I never want to lose it again.