Unexpected Friendships

Becoming friends with my coworker's spouses has been surprising and amazing. They are unexpected friends, so many of the wives of these men I work with. I cherish these women. Like family.

I love absolutely every second of my time with them - get togethers, texts, emails, lunches, work parties, etc.

This week I got to have lunch again with my friend Stacey, the wife of my coworker Dane. They live very close to our work, and Dane graciously hung out with the boys for the first part of lunch so that Stacey & I could have some focused time together. I'm so incredibly blessed to know her, share sweet godly time with her, and laugh together as I accidentally squirted juice from an orange into my eye.

Yup...totally did that.

Once Dane needed to get back {because I'd run late in getting over there} I relished in playing with her 3 boys, but I must say that their 5 month old boy Jeremiah has totally wrapped me around his finger. From the day she let me give him his first ever bottle, to this day when he smiled, cooed, and laughed at me - my heart totally melts when I'm around him.

When I leaned in to wipe his drool and very slight spit-up from his chin with my thumb, Stacey was amazed and said "Wow, now that's love!!"

And I thought, "oh... I didn't even think about it."

Perhaps it's the fact that I'm not around it constantly or have my own kids to do it to, but I just react anymore with my maternal instincts, no matter the child. It's become like second nature.

Or perhaps that's because the kids I am around the most - Parker & Nolan - have both had a history of being the biggest spitter-uppers and droolers known to mankind....

I can't fully explain how much I love kids that aren't even related to me. My heart just boils over with glee. It melts in total love and grace. But I'm not talking about strangers kids or just anyone I come into contact with.

I'm so thankful for these opportunities that allow me to spoil and love on the kids of friends. The kids of the people I work with every day and consider like family.

And I'm especially thankful for all of these unexpected friendships. I'm always amazed that these people even want to be my friends, and sometimes I probably drive them all bonkers with trying to arrange getting together for fear that they'll soon realize what a nutcase I am and decide to stay away from me forever.

Thankfully they haven't wised up. Yet.

For as long as they're all in my lives, I am eternally grateful.  

And will continue to wipe their kids' drool off their chins without even realizing it.