Remarkably Royal: A fairy godmother?!

Look at this face!

This is my godson, Everett. Aren’t those some of the best blue eyes you’ve ever seen? So adorable, I just want to squeeze him. And what a privilege, to be asked to be his godparent?! I'm not actually capable of doing any *real* magic like a fairy godmother can, but to think that someone trusts me enough to say now that they want me to be a part of their child’s life forever, and want me to share in the responsibility of ensuring this sweet angel knows God’s love and commitment to him, and lives in a way that pleases God...

Wow. Just wow.

Everett at lunch after his baptism a couple months ago

Now for the disappointment-- Everett and his parents do not live nearby. They are only about 3 hours away, but in the life of people with small children, a city a few hours away may as well be on the other side of the planet. It is near impossible to plan visits around everyone’s schedules…especially when both of our husbands work on many weekends (and don't tell them, but we actually prefer to visit when they are working--less wife guilt). As a result, I get to enjoy Everett’s life in snippits. He’s now 5 months old and I’ve only been able to see him in person twice. This would be something I intend to change. Somehow, someway, I plan to see him more frequently. I love the pictures I get of him from time to time though. (Hint, Hint, Amy—ramp it up a bit, why don’t ya?)

So, you may wonder how I got so lucky to work myself into this position with this handsome little munchkin. Well, Everett’s mom is my person--which makes complete sense only if you watch Grey’s Anatomy-- and has been for almost 17 years. Amy is the one who knows pretty much everything and who I can say just about anything to without fear of judgment, ridicule, chastising, etc. Don’t get me wrong, there ~~may be~~ probably is any one or more of those things any time I open my mouth, they just aren’t immediately overt.

Despite having grown up in the same city, and attending rival high schools (we played an annual football game called...wait for it...The Gucchi Bowl. Don’t be jealous.), we didn't meet until the beginning of our sophomore year of college. Amy joined my sorority. Yes, I was in a sorority. I had been in a year, and she just pledged (although I believe that’s no longer the technical term when one becomes a provisional member of a national Greek social/philanthropic organization). We were at Del Lago on a retreat which neither of us was excited about having to attend. We commiserated over it at the time and have been enjoying each other’s snarky attitude ever since. We spent many an evening in college partying, dancing, and singing “Summer Lovin’” to each other with our friends all around. Yep, because the night always had to culminate with a playing of the Grease hit--don’t ask me why. Amy was the first person I told that I liked Kidd Royal as anything more than a friend. She was my maid of honor at our wedding. I called her right after I called Kidd to say our first baby was coming that day. When anything big happened, she’s the one I wanted to talk to first. Over time when we were no longer in the same town, we would look forward to our visits and make long lists (because we are both list people) of all the things we were going to discuss when we got together. We’d spend a weekend on the porch at one place or the other, talking until we couldn’t keep our eyes open anymore and would cover everything and more over the weekend, which would have to suffice until we talked again. We spent hours solving the world’s problems of men, jobs, marriage, friends, frenemies, school, ~~worldly,~~ ~~national~~ celebrity gossip news, and so on. Now that we’re older and more mature, the conversation is more about men, jobs, marriage, friends, frenemies, school, and motherhood. So, you see, a lot has changed. I’m sure we both saved tons in therapy because of our talks. If only time and schedules allowed us to do it more often. We will likely never live in the same city again, as our lives just have taken us down different paths, but we will always be close.

I have been criticized in the past for acting as though my friends are more important than family. I believe that family is what you make of it, and you don’t get to treat people like crap and take them for granted just because they are related to you, by no choice of their own. You have to cultivate a relationship to really keep that family feel. So, yes, some friends are every bit as important to me as family. Amy is one of those. As an added bonus, her family is pretty darn amazing too. Chandler is a pretty fantastic guy, and I have known and loved her parents and siblings as long as long as I’ve known her, and I cannot tell you how awesome they are. Talk about a shining example of the kind of parent and wife I want to be! As it so happens, her sister Jessica and I are kinda the same person. Just sayin’. Maybe that’s why she loves me.

So, back to my point---which is long overdue (both in terms of time and length of this post!): Welcome to the world, Everett David!! Know that Kidd and I love you so very much and are deeply honored to have the privilege of being your godparents. We wish you every happiness in life and look forward to watching you grow into the outstanding human being we know you are to become. You have phenomenal parents who would do anything for you. But, know that like the rest of us, they are human and will make mistakes. Don’t hold it against them for too long. You are so very loved by people far and near. I hope you feel that in every step of your life. We will all be here to spoil you rotten, laugh with you when you are happy, support you when you are sad, and answer your millions of questions as you figure out this crazy thing called life. We'll talk again more later, I promise. For now, suffice it to say you are an amazing blessing, for which I am truly grateful! I'm not exactly fairy godmother material--seeing as how I'm not a fairy and don't carry a wand-- but I will do everything I can to help make your life magical.