11 November, 2011

Dear Vanessa


Today I'm sending a special thanks to Vanessa. She was the woman who gave me my first job in New York, and a weighty job at that: I was "the nanny" for her wonderful little daughter, Bella. During the days, when her mommy & daddy would go to work, Bella and I would invade the world of the Upper West Side. We would visit Citarella and spend hours at the Elephant Playground or the Hippo Playground or any other wonderful options in that neighborhood. We would have play dates with Kate who lived down the hall. And Bella would babble to me in her adorable toddler French.

Spending those few years with Bella (and with Vanessa and her husband, Steve) fostered my love of New York, deepened my desire to have a daughter of my own, and solidified my aspiration to be a loving member of a committed, romantic marriage. Having been blessed with a beautiful daughter and an incredible (and romantic!) husband, I am now fully aware that those seeds planted many years ago are now blossoming gardens in my life. My little girl is just a few months shy of her 2nd birthday - and she reminds me of Bella almost every single day.

To Vanessa: thanks for trusting me with your baby girl, a gift I can only now fully appreciate... and also for being a good example of how wonderful young motherhood can be, a gift I will always remember.

30 DAYS OF THX project inspired by ThxThxThx (#30daysofthx)

1 comment:

  1. Rachel,
    I can't believe that I'm only seeing this post now. The gratitude is felt even more keenly on our end. Quite simply, our lives were graced by your touch and although it has been a couple of years since we saw you last, we still talk of you often. In addition to caring for Bella so lovingly, and helping me find the right work-home balance solution, you introduced us to the world of theater in New York in a very personal way. I am so happy that you are a mother now. Even fresh out of college, it was already apparent that you would be an amazing mother. New York can be such a large, impersonal place, but somehow it brought us together. I hope the move has gone well and that you have settled in the burbs easily. Maybe we can see you when we visit NJ next!

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