Zachary

For the longest time, I wasn't going to have any kids. Rick didn't really want kids, and I wasn't pushing. One of the things that happened in my life to start me thinking otherwise was a sweet little boy named Zachary. I met him and his mom and dad (Wendy and Timmy) not too long after he came home from the hospital. They lived up Wateroak a few houses from us. I didn't know them very well before Zachary came along, but it was a pretty fast friendship afterward.

Zachary came early, and he stayed at the hospital for a really long time after he was born. Even when he came home, he needed to have extra oxygen, so he had to have an oxygen tank and an oxygen monitor on him most of the time. It was exhausting for Wendy and Timmy. I started to help out a little here and there. I remember one time Wendy and Timmy going out for a bit and letting me babysit Zachary. I was so proud. We dozed on the couch...him on my tummy...my hand making sure his oxygen line stayed in his nose. Another time I remember him being in his saucer and me stepping outside for just a sec and the door locking behind me. Sheer terror. I could see him. He was fine. The nextdoor neighbor opened the door with a credit card in a jiffy...phew. He was a darling little boy, and I loved visiting and playing with him.

Wendy and Timmy moved away a few years back, and they've expanded their family. Zachary is now almost 13, and he's the happy child on the far right of the picture. It's definitely worth sending Christmas cards when you get back cards like this in response.

Somehow I've screwed up Wendy's address, but after a Yahoo People search and a talk with Timmy's mom, I'm back in touch. Whew!

Kids can come a long way even with obstacles. And, there are special people that come into our lives that never leave even if they move farther away.