I went outside to sit on the deck for a minute, to re-group so to speak in my favorite pink robe which is four years old but will always be my favorite robe (I will get back to this in a minute)and I heard this very deep strange sound repeatedly. It was not a sound to be fearful of however, it was not relaxing hearing this hmm umm hmm umm over and over. I knew it was not a person it had a different tone than a human. Looking around I saw there were several geese sleeping right below my deck. Who would ever think that a goose snores? Honestly, now that I know what the sound was and where it was coming from I have to say it funny. I only wish I could have taped it for you so you could hear it as well. This week I am going to learn how to do a video so I can share with you what it sounds like when the goose snores.

Of course, I elected to come inside and re-group with my pink robe still on. This robe is from the Gap and has so much meaning to me that I really doubt I will ever be able to part with it a very close friend (we did not see one another for several years as we were in different parts of the country) brought it for me. There is so much more to this story, the emotional roller coaster of pregnancy was giving rides twenty four hours a day in my case.

Before my daughter was born I was in the hospital for a week on complete bed-rest, yes that is right complete bed- rest in a hospital for a week.Let me mention in addition I was 31 weeks preggy. Talk about going insane. My anxiety level was so high, this was my first child and I did not know what was going to happen next.

My whole pregnancy had been rough, I was off and on bed rest, bleeding less days than not (thankfully) I would wait for the doctor to give me permission to return to work after being out for ten days, two weeks, sometimes a month at a time. Getting out and going to work during this time often gave me some sanity in the day and seemed to pass time by much faster than when I was at home channel surfing pretending not to think about the baby, how many days or months I had left in the pregnancy, what she would look like, would I bond with her right away and everything else that goes through your hormonal mind during pregnancy.

Several days before I was admitted to the hospital, my friend and I met for lunch and we walked past the Gap, there was a pink fluffy robe in the window and I said to her, wow that looks so cozy I like that robe (honestly, at that very moment all I wanted to do was go to sleep I was very tired all the time after I hit the 28 week mark and that robe looked like heaven) Not giving a second thought to the robe we ate our lunch and I returned to work.

The next time we talked after playing phone tag was when I was already in the hospital walking on pins and needles, I had a slow leak and was being monitored every hour unless I showed signs of infection or any struggle from the baby which I did on several occasions then I had the monitor on me twenty four hours until the doctor said it was ok to take it off. Try sleeping with those wires attached to you, and the beep beep sound I would not consider that an easy task.

I have to say the hospital is probably the WORST place to get any rest. When I was so over tired that I was finally about to get some sleep, a nurse would walk in the room to a) check my temperature b) give me medication c) check my vital signs or d) a resident would check on me. Then early and I mean early between five and 6 a resident would always come into the room ask me several questions and leave, Thank you for waking me up, it was so hard for me to fall asleep in the first place there was no way I was falling back to sleep. So like the good insomniac I know had become I would stare off into space and my mind would be flooded with thoughts of course thoughts of worry. Keeping the faith was much easier for me when I had others around. When I had sleepless night on top of sleepless night my mind became more twisted with worry and less with prayer.

At thirty one weeks and six days my beautiful daughter was brought into the world by an emergency c-section. I was elated and fear ridden at the same time. My close friend came over to the hospital and her arms were full. She like most of my visitors had brought presents for the baby. Except there was a big blue box which she handed to me with a huge smile all over her face. I opened the box, never thinking it was anything for me ,let alone what it was. The robe, the pink robe I had so yearned for, but would dare not buy for myself, because every penny was either being saved or spent on my daughter. She looked at me and said, I know everyone is thinking about the baby, I thought I would do something for you.

This was truly so touching to me, and had such an impact that I will never part with the robe which has been washed so many times in three plus years, and the pink color that it once was is now faded, it does not matter to me. This will always be one of the most special "gifts" (in more than the material sense) that someone gave to me. This showed me the meaning of a true friendship, unspoken words, she knew that I would not buy it for myself. This is a story I will be able to share with my daughter about the meaning of true friendship which means friends connecting and growing on so many deeper levels together and finding there own path.