A week in March- with Mary!

I have been lucky enough to have collected a fantastic group of girl friends, reaching back to my preschool days and rounding out with a couple of great girls here in Germany. During our time in Ohio, I met Mary. She joined a bible study I was a part of, and I knew right away that we would be friends. Mary is stylish, funny, sensible, honest, one of the smartest women I've ever met, and one of the truest friends I could have hoped to make. I can't believe that we've only been friends for a few years, as we already share so many memories! Our move to Germany was right around the time that Mary deployed to Qatar, and we kept each other going by sending goofy cards and checking in on one another. She safely returned to her husband in Ohio last fall, and when I told her that B would be deploying this spring, she started planning her trip out to visit me and meet Layla! Being a seasoned traveler around Europe, I hoped Mary would be able to help me kick start some travels around our local area. The first couple of days were spent around the house because we got the BIGGEST snow of the season the day after she arrived, shutting down base and making me feel a bit too nervous to venture further than one village over to pick up dinner. After the snow melted, though, Mary and I experienced our first Easter markets, traveled to Metz, France, and in general just ate and drank our way through a wonderful week. Other highlights: watching Drop Dead Gorgeous a few times(seriously, Mary, I love that I got to watch this perfecto comedy with you for the first time, it so wraps up our dark sense of humor), discussing the election of the new pope(she's not Catholic, but very educated and had interesting viewpoints), eating everything we bought from a shopping trip to a French grocery story (oh wait, did I already mention eating? Whatever, we did that a lot!) So, here's the thing about Mary. She doesn't have kids yet, and when she and I became friends in Ohio, I wasn't a mom yet either, so I was a tiny bit nervous that my having a baby around with fairly demanding needs might be stressful. Wrong! SO WRONG! One of the biggest gifts you can give to a friend who is a new mom is to be a fan of her baby. I know that sounds so simple, but I cannot tell you how important it is. I remember feeling awkward making friends around that time, just feeling completely insecure in this new phase of life. Would people like my baby, like I needed them to so I could be myself around them? Would my friends-from-my-previous-life still like me?? Mary scooped up Layla as soon as I could unbuckle her from the stroller in the airport, and put any fear or awkwardness to rest. She was unbelievable with Layla! Layla clicked with her right away, too, I think sensing Mary's fun nature and genuine affection for her. When you are by yourself with an infant 24/7 with very little outside adult interaction, you start to forget what it's like to have someone in the house that answers when you talk out loud, lends a helping hand when you have something you NEED to get done (shower, anyone?), or actually cares that you put something other than yoga pants! Having Mary visit just warmed our house up during a cold, snowy March here in Germany. Mary, you were truly a light in what could have been a very dark time for me, and everyone should be so lucky as to have a friend like you!