Wednesday, April 11, 2012

She is a Friend of Mind

"She is a friend of mind.  She gather me, man.  The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order.  It's good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind." - Toni Morrison

Today is my BFF's birthday, my chosen sister.  We met 32 years ago in junior high and have been like family ever since. 

When I look at her, I see the young, fresh-faced kids that we both were when we met in 8th grade.  I see the crazy, care-free teenagers we were, remember all the milestone moments of our lives.  Getting our drivers' licenses, prom, graduation.  Turning 21 and clubbing, dancing til the wee hours of the morning, eating Taco Bell the next afternoon.

Meeting the men of our dreams, getting engaged, planning weddings, having our first, then second, babies within months of each other.

When I became pregnant with the triplets, she doted on me and worried about me like only a sister would do.  She and her amazing husband are Godparents to one, special aunt and uncle to all.

In fact, this woman is so amazing that she gave blood for the triplets when they needed transfusions after their premature birth.  I guess she really is blood-related to them!

I cherish all the beautiful memories of our friendship and don't mind growing old knowing that she's right there beside me.  We enjoy the time we get to share now as moms to growing kids and look forward to watching our children, who are as close as cousins, enjoy all the same milestones together. 

Happy Birthday, Boo - love you forever!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Back to the ER

Spring Break is this week, which is great if you're going away, but not so much fun if you don't have vacation plans.  Just as well - my oldest has a different week off than the rest of the kids, my hubby is still recuperating from surgery, and one of the triplets is restricted in his activity because of a head injury last week.

Yup, another triplet trip to the ER!  The latest injury happened when Triplet C tripped and hit the back of his head on a step outside.  No concussion, thank the Good Lord, but quite a few stitches.  It happened, of course, during the hours of 4 pm and 7 pm, otherwise known as the 'witching hours' in many houses with young children.

Not that I want my family to panic when there's an emergency, but as my husband and I decided that he definitely needed stitches, no one seemed bothered much at all.  Probably because in the past 5 years, we've been to the ER 10 times.  I have the plastic surgeon's number programmed into my cell phone.  I always call ahead in the hopes that he's on call (he's the best), and he usually is.

On the way to the hospital, I informed the injured party that he had officially earned the title of most trips to the ER (a total of 5).  He said, "that's not funny, Mom!"  I wasn't trying to be funny, just stating the facts.

All of our trips to the ER have been facial or head lacerations, except for my broken nose, and the time this same boy swallowed a penny in Hilton Head.  By the way, they have a beautiful, well-staffed hospital there, FYI.

Please don't think that I have taken any of these trips to the ER lightly.  It is a terrible thing to see your children hurt and each time I have wished I could switch places with them.  I am so grateful that these injuries have all been minor.

What are my Spring Break plans?  I have set the bar very low this year - as long as we don't make any more trips to the ER our vacation will be a success.