Posts from — February 2010

Jen Warnock died this morning. She was someone full of joy and one of those people who was just crackling with capital-L LIFE every time I saw her, someone for whom a greeting wasn’t a greeting unless a hug was involved. And the idea that she’s no longer with us — and that this all happened so suddenly — is just unreal.

Jen was one of our midwives and was with us throughout our roller-coaster journey that was Archer’s birth. Jen was the one who drove with me to the hospital after Amy was put in an ambulance. She was calmly eating soup out of a giant bowl while sitting in the passenger seat of our car, and somehow that act was enough to keep me from a full-blown panic: if someone could eat soup in a car at a time like this, how bad could things really be? Jen also was with me as I waited for what seemed like forever to find out where Amy and Archer were once we got to the hospital before I was let into the operating room, and I don’t know what I would’ve done without her there that night. I’ll forever be thankful for that.

We were lucky enough to get to know Jen and her family a little bit after Archer was born, having Michael, Pele, Ruby, and Jen over for dinner only once…but an event we were hoping to be able to repeat. The last time I saw her was at the Buddy Walk in October, where she joined us as a member of our team and extended family for Archer (though she’s the one taking the picture at the top of that post, so can’t be seen). Amy just saw her a month or so ago and they talked about getting tea sometime soon.

And she loved my little boy. Amy and I were so looking forward to Archer knowing Jen as a part of his life for a long time to come, and, as Amy said last night between tears, to being able to get parenting advice from her whenever the need came up.

This is from her “about” page on her dancing website:

What I’d like to be remembered for:
Being/doing anything positive/helpful in someone else’s life.

Mission more than accomplished, lady.