Janie & Jack and Friends

Janie & Jack – a baby boutique run by the Gymboree Company – is perhaps the cutest store in any mall today. And I (she proudly shares) am a discount-earning, part-time sales associate at this precious little place. I started today – yes, three and a half weeks before I’m due to give birth, and yes, that makes me certifiably nuts! But more than mingling with the painfully adorable and shockingly overpriced toddler wear, I met one of the nicest women I’ve met in Milwaukee yet. She’s one of the managers at the store, and we have just about everything in common. She just found out that she is due with her second child in March, and her life story – both the ups and downs – of her first pregnancy is almost identical to ours. It was such a relief to FINALLY find someone experiencing the same life changes, challenges and special moments that we are, and it has been a long time since I’ve found someone with whom I feel so instantly comfortable. Sure, some of it is surely “first meeting naïveté,” but I felt really lucky to accept this position on a whim and meet someone so friendly and similar to me as a by-product.

Dennis and I realized that while there are plenty of singles and parents’ groups in circles of every kind, there aren’t many “newly married without children” social groups of which to become a part. Guess it’s just not supposed to be a social time of life? What, are we supposed to spend ALL of our newlywed time together or something!? Anyhow, we both thought perhaps the arrival of Baby Knapp would help us meet more people with newborns and young children, and perhaps begin to build a network of support – or dare I say – friends. This indeed has been the case, as we had another couple over with their newborn daughter last week, and we’re slowly meeting other sleep-deprived parents one by one (we can pick them out of a crowd by the bags under their eyes!).

So, even if this little job turns out to be nothing more than an excuse to get out of the house once in awhile, I’m already amazed that it could be yet another unsuspecting link to the world of parenting. While we may never be able to afford a single item in the Janie & Jack shop, I’m grateful to afford the opportunity to finally have a local girlfriend or two with whom to compare notes and “feel normal!” But, let’s not forget the other main point here… Aren’t those adorable outfits to DIE for?!