Happy Birthday Paula!

What can we say? We love Paula. Period. James thinks she's hot (she is). Seamus loves her cookies. Finn races to the door for hugs every time he hears her voice. And me, well, most days I'm not sure what I'd do without her. The greatest surprise of our abrupt move back to Minnesota was the discovery of Officer Bob and his perfect wife Paula a few doors away. What can I say? She has the most energy of anyone I've ever met - and I know a lot of women with energy. She's a fabulous athlete, an incredibly devoted daughter, sibling, mother, spouse and friend. She'll drop anything and everything to help you - and you'd never even have to ask. She's sensitive and a worrier and that makes her open and easy to talk to. Basically, she's a Blessing disguised as a curly haired firecracker.

In the weeks leading up to Finn's birth, their son Jeff started showing up to mow the grass. When I tried to pay him the first time, his mother marched into the house and said "Absolutely not. I've already paid him."And I thought, I've move into a neighborhood where the neighbors pay their kids to mow my lawn? Really?

And when we came home from the hospital the house was decorated inside and out with signs and lots of flowers from Paula's garden. She stopped in every day to see how things were going and if we needed anything, and over time I've discovered that no matter how competent I feel as a parent or a person, I've certainly come to need Paula and Bob. Whether it is their uncanny ability to stop over while water is pouring through my ceiling,or drive through the ally when the dome light was left on in the car, or just the dinners and evenings sitting by the fire gabbing (and if ever four people knew how to gab) they are one of the pure pleasures of our lives.

It's easy to highlight all the life-saving examples of friendship, but truth is that the times that have endeared her most to me, were the times when James was working all hours and she'd come down and have a glass of wine and a little adult conversation after the kids went to bed. I look back on that now, and realize without her friendship that would have been a very hard time for us. But instead, it was often easy and fun because I knew I was never alone. I am a better parent and person because Paula has filled in with an extra set hands at bath time or a warm baked good just at those points when I was feeling fried. Maybe it's a coincidence that she shows up when I'm feeling wiped out or maybe this is how God takes care of us. He gives us each other to watch over. We all have the choice to take care of our neighbor or not, mostly I suppose we don't in this day and age, but Paula is a great example of taking care of her neighbor both literally and figuratively.

Happy Birthday, Paula. You are a gift to us. The picture is from last November - it's the morning we took our Christmas pictures. Guess who stopped down on the way home from church to take the photos...