Friendships

I spoke on the phone this evening with a friend of mine. We haven't spoken in quite a while, but there is one thing that amazes me. It is that when we speak, it is just like it was just yesterday when we last got together. You see, the thing is this, we met in very unusual circumstances. Our babies were neighbors with each other in the NICU and we were housemates in the Ronald McDonald House together. We would always run into each other while we were scrubbing up at the big sinks before we donned those beautiful yellow paper gowns and we would sit up and have lots of late night talks in the dining room at the RMH. There was even the funny incident when we got punished because we stirred up some trouble with the nursing staff and we had our babies moved away from each other so we could no longer "watch out" for each others' children and "tattle" on nurses.


As time moved on and our babies started growing and getting older, we were really oblivious to what the future would hold. We got together for playgroups and watched our "preemies" do things slower than "normal" babies and it didn't matter. Our babies were perfect to us, and beautiful, and they were just smaller and needed time to catch up...or so we thought. We compared stories of Early Intervention, and therapies, and we met for things like Kindermusik and traveling back and forth to each other's houses. Life really just seemed so simple back then.


As the years flew by, it was obvious that life seemed to throw more obstacles in the way. Our preemies just didn't need that time to grow up like we thought. Now I do know that there are some preemies that are blessed and lucky enough to be able to grow up with no lasting problems as a result of their prematurity. Unfortunately, many premature babies aren't so lucky. Whether they continue to deal with cognitive delays, gross motor delays, fine motor delays, health problems, or something else, there is one thing that we parents have that nobody else can ever understand. It is a special bond that will forever bind us together.


And so, as I spoke on the phone with my friend this evening, we did the thing that we always do at this exact same time each year...we discussed party plans for our children's upcoming birthdays. It is so hard to believe that it has been seven years since our children were born. And I can't help but wonder if we will still be comparing NICU stories and talking about their birthdays like this when they are turning 21. There is one thing that is for certain...our "babies" are still the most beautiful children and even very special people maybe just a little bit BECAUSE of their prematurity.