chelsea

Katie was my first sister, the gift that saved me from my brothers. But Chelsea was the baby of the family, the pet of us all. I was twelve when she as born, and was frequently called upon to babysit her and my other siblings. As a result, we grew quite close, despite our age difference.

The autumn that Chelsea entered 1st grade was the autumn that I moved out of state to begin my freshman year of college. I didn't spend much permanent time at home after that, and consequently most of my memories of Chelsea are of her as a very little girl -- not the lovely young woman she has grown into since.

Every time I visit home, we catch up and reconnect. We had a particularly nice time this spring when we were all gathered for Katie's wedding. More than once our conversations turned to the idea of her coming to spend the summer with us in Brooklyn. We both wanted to do it, but it would only be feasible if she could find some part-time work while she was here. That would likely be difficult to arrange, so we both tried not to get our hopes up. Even so, I kept my ear to the ground in case something turned up.

And something did turn up. A bit of talking to the right people and asking the right questions led to a goldmine of job opportunities among my friends in the field of child care. Before too long solid plans were being made and plane tickets purchased.

And now Chelsea is here. She landed in the city first thing this morning and gets to stay for an ENTIRE MONTH. To say we are thrilled would be a major understatement.