I think I have mentioned Jessica in here, but just in case... Garrett and Jessica are friends from church. They have a son (Jason) Micah's age and another son (Cole) who is 2ish months older than Benji, but age-adjusted is Benji's same age. They're both pretty outgoing (Jess and Garrett) and befriended us quickly, especially since we both have/were going to have boys so close in age. And Micah and Jason kind of befriended each other to begin with. :)

I still don't know Jessica very well (nor she I), but we have started doing preschool together with Micah and Jason. ("So that's just it? We just met and now we're getting a flat together?" -John to Sherlock in BBC's show) Jessica is taking charge for the most part, partly because she was a 2nd grade teacher, but mostly because she is the take-charge type and I'm not. :)

Anyway, what was I even going to say? Oh yeah. I think I was just going to write about Jess. I'm trying to figure her out, like I always do when I meet new people.

Jess has been on antidepressants since she was 18, and now I'm on sertraline/Zoloft, too, thanks to my second reflux baby...Oy...So we have that in common, too. Yay mental health issues? :P Although emotionally I think I am in better shape than Jess--actually, I know I am, although I wasn't so much right before I went on the Zoloft.

Other things we have in common:
-We're both "older" moms in the congregation of our church. I'm only about 5 years older than the other moms; Jess is probably closer to 10 years older.
-Neither of us do babies well. At all. And for that reason...
-We're both pretty sure we're done having babies (she is for sure done, for physical health reasons, I am most likely done, for mental/emotional health reasons).
-We both come from non-Reformed backgrounds. I think she said she came from a Methodist background. I don't know Garrett's story, though.
-We're both married to theological intellects.
-We both swing toward being helicopter parents.

Ways we're different:
Oh man, let me count them...
-She's Type A. Probably an ESTJ.
-I'm Type B. Somewhere between ISFP, INFP, and ISFJ.
-She wears the pants in the family, is the main disciplinarian, etc.
-She doesn't have as theological a bent as I do.
-I'm more optimistic than she is (wow, there are some words I never thought would apply to me!).
-I'm more artsy/craftsy/musical than she is.

And that's pretty much all I know. We're still figuring things out, figuring each other out. I intend on getting together with her for a real sit-down conversation without kids.

There's one other thing I know about Jessica, but I don't know any details: she was married before Garrett. And the divorce was not her idea. :(

Anyway, it's been an interesting friendship. Jess, I think, sees us as "foxhole buddies." She's also super-duper committed to forging a friendship with me, come hell or high water. Which is a little terrifying for this commit-o-phobe.

I see Jess as a friend for the rough patches. Sort of a friend-of-necessity. I appreciate that she is realistic about life being difficult. I suppose she's like the friends I always used to make--always drawn to the broken ones or the ones with baggage.

I don't see Jess as a "project" friend, though, like I have seen other broken friends in the past. I see us more like I see Stephen and I--we can be strong for each other when the other one is not doing so great. And that's not a bad place to start a friendship, really.

I do hope that in a year, we're both doing better, and I hope in that time, we can build a friendship based more on actually liking each other, LOL, than out of "necessity."

Um... I was actually going to write about preschool, ha. Well...

The bottom line is, I am seriously enjoying the preschool activities. Arts and crafts?! Play with colors all day?! Yes, please!! LOL. I'm actually kind of preparing for the disappointment of this whole education thing when it outgrows the arts and crafts phase and starts to be more actual work.

I feel like somebody somewhere would tell me to stop worrying about when the fun will end and just enjoy it while it is. Sigh. They're probably right.

This week we are studying apples. We're also going to study the story of Adam and Eve and the fall. Today we went to a farm and picked apples--my favorite fall tradition! Micah didn't care about picking apples, but he LOVED the hay tower they had. :)

Anyway, I'm having tons of fun with all the arts and crafts, that's all. :)

-Stephanie

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