Simply Astounding

Best friends...I remember growing up my best friend was Jessie. We had SO much fun together. We lived two houses apart. We played spies and recorded ourselves singing to the Lion King soundtrack and Travis Tritt's Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof. I remember sleep overs and expeditions in the woods. I remember lazy summer days eating popsicles and playing in the pool. In high school I got a new best friend named Margie. We did EVERYTHING together. We played soccer every waking moment. We went to Amazon Grill once a week or more for chicken alfredo and iced tea. We drove the same model car when we both were able to drive. We slept over at her house ALL THE TIME. We visited colleges together. We shared our lives together. I've been without a best friend since I was 21. I have friends but no one that I share everything with, no one that I talk to everyday. That is until a few months ago. I met my best friend on a babycenter CP board. We were both looking for other parents with kids similar to ours except no one's kid was similar to ours. They all had spastic CP or severe hypotonic CP or whatever. When she emailed me a short blurb about her daughter Peyton I felt so connected so quickly. She was writing about MY kid. The mom and I made an instant connection. And then one day I was out walking Delaney around the neighborhood and I get a phone call from a little voice. It's Peyton telling me about her costume and just chatting away. She had taken her mom's phone and called me. These phone calls started happening regularly. And everytime she wanted to talk to DElaney. Delaney just listened to Peyton talk and then eventually started kissing the phone. Well we've been skyping together pretty much everyday for hours for about a month now. I read Peyton stories with Delaney on my lap. We turn on music and the girls get down and dance. Delaney tries to give Peyton her doll or purse or toy through the computer. Peyton tries to give me her creations through the computer. And now Delaney attempts to have Kate pick her up through the computer.

Delaney has started talking in the past month. She says Peyn, CharChar, sissis, mommom, mom, fish (fav song), shoes (loves shoes and the song), yeah, yes, up, papa, and out.

So last night Peyton went into the hospital. She was totally melting down and wanted only one person. She wanted to call Delaney, not grandma or daddy or anyone else. So she called and talked to me for a bit and then asked for DElaney. Delaney held the phone to her ear while Peyton talked to her. And all of a sudden I hear Delaney saying yeah, hmmmm, hi, pppppp, yes. She was TALKING to her best buddy on the phone. Peyton calmed down and said she could be brave now. She was playing with two My Little Ponies in the hospital and one pony told the other pony "Peyton is getting a tube in her nose today and soon will have a tube in her tummy. But no she's not afraid because DElaney has one too". So as they gave Peyton her sedative last night before inserting the tube and she got all nice and "drunk" she kept repeating "I love Delaney"

I think it's so friggin awesome that my 1 year old has a best friend and even better my best friend is her best friend's mom. And even better than that she's friends with my wife too and we're friends with her husband.

To know you are not alone in the world is the most inspiring and sustaining feeling. I have no idea how me, Jess, or Delaney would have made it through these past few months in one piece without the support from this family.

I will leave you with Delaney's first "I love you mann" drunken call from her biffer