Fast forward a year and I received a phone call. The woman was given my name to babysit from the church youth list. I had never babysat for anyone in the church previously and thought it was odd they were given my name. But the woman on the phone sounded friendly so I decided to go ahead and go. She was a first time mother working on her master’s degree and needed someone to be there while she worked on her thesis. When I arrived for our first “appointment,” I walked up to the door, rang the door bell, and when the woman answered, I stood there in disbelief and smiled. The woman’s introduced herself as Jen. She was the woman from the engaged couple on the panel from my sixteenth birthday, who I never saw again. Until this day, standing on her doorstep, to watch her baby girl.
Over the years, the relationship I have the Jen and her family has been one of the greatest treasures in my life. When I am in their company, my heart is filled with complete joy. When I first started watching their child Olivia, she was eight months old and had an extreme case of separation anxiety. There would be times that Olivia would cry through my entire time babysitting. One of the only ways I could get Olivia to stop crying was to allow their HUGE dog Zubba to jump all over me, essentially tackling me, with the end result of getting Olivia to laugh.
The first time I met the husband Shane, I had Olivia in the back yard sitting, while I practiced my cheer dances for her. I was completely humiliated when Shane walked through the back door and I was singing and dancing away. But this introduction is probably what started our relationship out as the fun one we share.
When watching their kids, I would generally arrive at the Strickland’s home 30 minutes before they left, babysit for the time they were gone, and then stay an hour or two after they returned. I would sit on their couch just talking and hanging out. Most babysitters leave when the parents return and I am sure they wanted me too, but it never felt that way. To me it always felt like instant family, a safe, fun, loving place to be. Eventually, the two hours of hanging out, turned into staying the night, which then turned into staying the weekend. One time in college I came down just to watch their kids for the evening. Two days later I was still at the Stricklands, my cell phone died and I went M.I.A. My roommate was worried about me and called my parents, who had no idea I was even in town, they then called the Stricklands just to ensure I was actually there. While everyone else worried I was perfectly fine and content in my own little world and spending as much time as I could with the Stricklands.
After graduating from college I moved back to San Diego. One of the only refuges I took in moving away from all of my college friends, was that I would now be closer to the Strickland family. Three weeks later the family moved. I wrote in my journal, “Now the Strickland’s are gone, I will no longer have access to the family and the great joy they bring me.” A few short months after that, through a series of events, I ended up moving into their home, house sitting until it sold. You don’t get more access to a family then living in their empty old home. Coincidence? Probably not. Or it is the same kind of coincidence, that of all kids to call in the youth group for babysitting, they were given my name.
I have and always will think of them as my mentors and family. I love every single person in that family with my whole heart. I adore Jen and Shane, their children Olivia and Zach are lights in my life, and both sets of their parents are incredible. I have spent lots of time with the Strickland’s through the years. We have both moved several times over the 9 years but our relationship grows stronger and the love I have for them continues to grow stronger.
The whole point of the post will come out tomorrow, today I was just thinking about them and loving who they are and so thankful that the Lord has placed them in my life and grown our relationship and bond over the years. I hope the Lord blesses everyone with someone like the Stricklands in their life, because without them I am often unsure of where I would be in this world. Just the thought of them makes me smile and knowing that no matter how long I go without seeing or speaking to them, their love and joy will always be there.
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