Our friend

photo by Brooke Schwab Photography

Do you have a friend, who is more like an angel than a person?
I do.
Her name is Maggie. Margaret to some. Marty to others.
But to Maggie to us.

When I first moved to Houston, the only job I could get with my Social Sciences and Gerontology degree was working as an Activities Assistant at an assisted living facility. I made 6 dollars an hour and spent most of it driving to and from the facility that was 45 minutes away. As much as I did enjoy the bingo and bead stringing, I had hoped for something a little more challenging after graduating from college.

Hoping for the best, I showed up at my future place of employment not knowing if they were even hiring. I filled out an application, asking the receptionist to give it to the Social Services or Activities department of the nursing home. Maggie was the LMSW looking for a part time assistant. She interviewed me, and hired me the same day. I had little experience and no license, but she let me work as a "social worker" under her supervision for two and a half years. She taught me how to empathize and get tough. She taught me how to advocate for patients, but also how to leave my work at work. She made fun of my whining and encouraged coffee drinking all day long. She laughed with me and let me cry in her office when I got overwhelmed. Then she'd make me stop, get over myself, and get back to work.

Maggie was the best boss...but when I left to go to nursing school, that was not the end of our friendship. She retired shortly after I left for school, to care for her parents. She loved them and allowed them to finish their lives in dignity and comfort. When I had Frank, she was there offering to babysit with open arms. She took that fussy, crying little baby and walked him around my house for a few hours every week just so I could run some errands, and get my head on straight. When frank started school this year, Maggie was kind enough to rearrange her schedule to help me with babysitting so that I could work. She took him to school and picked him up. After Ford was born, she missed her regular hang out time with Frank, so she started picking him up once a week just for fun. They go get ice cream, feed ducks, visit the feed store or just play with construction toys at her house. It is the highlight of his week. He is completely spoiled by her, and so am I.

This week, for the ultimate birthday present, she got me a massage and watched Ford so I could go. She then picked up Frank for their weekly date in the afternoon. Are you kidding me? I don't deserve a friend like this. I don't deserve a day like this. She is just that nice to me. She loves my boys and takes care of them for free. We don't have our own awesome grandmas here in town with us, but she is definitely our Houston grandma. The only catch is that Frank has had to swear his allegiance to keep being her friend, even when she is an "old lady."

So you see why I call her an angel...and I don't go throwing that term around loosely. I don't even like to say it. I am not one of those, "Aw....precious angel.." people. But I can't come up with another word. That is why it has taken me so long to write this blog, looking for a less cheesy word. But angel is all I have to describe someone who has unselfishly helped me no matter where I have been in the last 10 years.

If you don't have a Maggie, well I am sorry for you. I doubt there are many out there. I can't give you her number, because you see, she is so busy already. There is the lady across the street she helps with various odds and ends, the elderly lady she takes to get groceries every week, little Pearl who gets loved on as much as my boys, and of course her own awesome family, and a host of funny friends. She opens her heart and has become family to us who are missing our families. She gives us all the greatest gift of friendship - she joyfully gives us her time. And in return, she has our absolute devotion.

Tell me, what would this world be like if we were all like her?