Noah…… this one is for you.  When our trip that we look so forward to every year went into a tailspin, you were the one who helped save the day.  When your Dad’s airplane had to do an emergency landing which prevented him from coming to join us, we should have known to get prepared.  But we still had faith that our favorite trip to Carolina was going to be great.   When the tropical storm came through and ruined the weather, it still didn’t really hit us.   But I think, when we all came down with the flu it started to sink in.  This was going to suck.  Then the fishing trip had to go because we were all running a fever and the ocean was out of control with riptides and 8 ft. swells.   Now we were getting it.  But the ending is always the best.  Go out with a bang! I always say.  If something is going to suck let it really suck.   At least that way, you have a good story later.  Of course at the time, to have your over-the-hill 7-month pregnant mom in excruciating pain and possibly starting to have a baby that is not ready to be born is a little scary.  It was scary for the grown-ups, including me, but I think it was even scarier for a 12-year old boy who knew enough to be scared but yet, still a kid who can’t do much to fix it. 

So this is for you:   This is my side of the story.  You were amazing!!!!  I was so impressed with you that day.  And truly, I could not have made it home to the safety of our doctors here without you.  You showed some of what you are made of.  Great courage,…. complete calm in the face of a terrifying storm….., and true kindness.  I know you were scared.  There was nothing I could do to protect you from that.  I was scared also.  I was also in more pain than I knew what to do with.  Giving birth with no drugs was not this hard, trust me.  Yet, I knew I had to get to my doctors before I truly went into labor and had a premature baby.  So with the doctors on the other line, we traveled through two airports with two small children together.

This is what makes a hero.   It is not always leaping tall buildings in a single bound, or flying at the speed of light.   Many times, the heroes are handling the crisis that nobody around them is even aware of.  We certainly tried to keep the airlines from knowing what was going on, as they may have  not let us travel.  So nobody around us really knew what we were going through.  But it was real and it was scary.   

And here is what I will never forget.  How you carried everything.  How you held Hannah’s hand and helped me keep that 2 year-old from wandering away.  How you quietly asked me everynow and then if I was doing okay.  How you picked up every single thing that your sister’s dropped.  How you calmly walked back and picked up Hannah when she fell getting off the moving sidewalk with traffic piling up behind us, dirty looks from strangers, and me helpless to help.  How you kept the peace between the girls when they wanted to fight over who was going to push the stroller.  How you never lost your calm; even when your tired 2-year old sister was screaming and your 7-year old sister was writhing in pain from her ears on the way down on the last descent.  And then!….. how after such a long hard day, with no real meal, you just stayed the course when we went straight from the airport to the doctor, and stayed for hours.  Here is the bottom line;  I could not have done it without your help.  I am not a proponent of children taking care of their parents on a regular basis when they are 12.  It is not a healthy family pattern to say the least.  But on this occasion when it could not be helped……..you truly rose to the occasion. 

And I still think, looking back, that if we had not been able to do what we did, it might not have had such a happy ending.   You are the kind of son that every mother dreams of having.   People actually tell me all the time how amazing you are and how proud I must be.  Mother’s of daughters your age befriend me because of what a great catch you will be (I am not kidding, this has been since 1st grade).  Mother’s of young son’s tell me they hope their boys will grow up like you.  And I burst with pride, when I tell them yes, he really is amazing.  But I add that I did absolutely nothing to deserve to have such a soul as my son.  It is truly a blessing from G-d that I get to be your mother and have you in my life.  And your brother can know that you loved him and helped him survive and be well, even before he was born.

Thank you………….for being you.

mom