The Three Musketeers (or, Perhaps, The Three Stooges)

Going to Tampa this weekend was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Lisa and Stacy are two of the most wonderful people I have ever met.

My first impression of Lisa was "Wow. What a beautiful, beautiful woman." She is absolutely gorgeous. And, OH. MY. GOD. Her son Aiden? Only the most adorable four-year old I have ever met. Precocious, smart, funny, sweet, polite...and exactly what I expected. I had thought, with all of Aiden's food allergies, that Lisa might be a little neurotic about us being around him. But right off I got a hug from Aiden and a high-five. He let me play with him, and was as excited to see me as I was to see him. Lisa's other son Mason is 10-months old. He is a serious, round-faced sweetheart. His smile was enough to give me the "baby bug". Seriously, if he would have fit in my purse I would have snuck him out of their house and taken him home with me. From the limited time I saw Lisa with her two children, I caught right away that she is a wonderful mother. She listened intently when Aiden talked to her, and responded to him in her beautiful motherly way. Lisa is quick with her laugh, ready to talk about any topic, and was ready to do whatever Stacy and I wanted to do. She played tour guide and told us some history of St. Petersburg and Tampa, she drove us around her neighborhood and took us to meet her dad, and we got to go to her (absolutely wonderful) home and meet her husband Joey.

Stacy met me first in the airport. I was on the phone with Mark and didn't see her, but I turned my back on her and walked away (without knowing she was there). Her first sentence to me was to joke with me about how I just totally snubbed her. Stacy and I are almost exactly the same height, but she carries her height much better than I do. Whereas I sometimes slouch (COTI, right Mama?), Stacy held her shoulders back and walked with pride. She has the most gorgeous hair, and the prettiest smile. Being with her was like being with someone you can just say anything to and not worry about what spews forth from your mouth. It was so comforting to be with her. While I didn't get to meet Tanner and Morgan (Stacy's children) or Randy (Stacy's husband), I know that I would love them as much as I did Aiden, Mason and Joey. Stacy is the woman that I could live next door to and never get tired of seeing. She is so smart, but it's not intimidating. She never makes you feel like less of a person because she's this brilliant woman and you're, well, not. Stacy is just as great of a mom as Lisa is. When she would talk about Tanner or Morgan, her face would light up and you could just tell how proud she was of those two. Tanner's liver transplant has certainly meant that she has had to give him more attention, but you could tell that Morgan is no less special to her than Tanner is.

My weekend with these two women was so awesome. I never once had to explain words like paracentesis or ascites. I never once had to try to explain what it's like to sit in a dark hospital room and listen to a mother next door screaming because her child had just died. No one thought it strange that I cried over the death of a beautiful angel ; a girl I had never met but loved so dearly. I didn't have to explain why I cry over labs: good, bad or mediocre. No one needed explanation of why I choose to stay with UNMC for Anthony's care, even though they are 1500 miles away. It was unbelievably comfortable to be with these two women who just "get it".

To Lisa and Stacy: my weekend with you was one of the best vacations I've ever had. Thank you so much for caring about me, and my family. You two are the best moms, and I know why your children are yours: no one else could handle what you two have with the grace and dignity that you two have shown. You are the perfect choice for your children. I love you both.