A Charmed Life

A Whole New [Third] World

The three of us were looking for something out of the ordinary to do today so we're headed for the border.  No, not Taco Bell, Tijuana, otherwise known as The Third World Country Right Next Door.  Twelve churros for a buck, here we come!  Anyone need anything while we're there?  Cheap knock-off Dooney and Burke purse, 1200 count bottle of Sudafed, Montezuma's Revenge?

If we're not back by later tonight, call the Federalis and come bail us out!

Gene Pool

This isn't my pool, and the two bundles of adorableness tucked under my arms have nothing to do with my genes.  But they're my family nonetheless, are as their moms, who are two of my very bestest buddies.  We live a few states away and all met in Arizona this weekend for a friend's graduation (congrats again, Coffee!) and the requisite female bonding rituals of shopping, eating, and corralling our offspring.  Despite the fact that they are my bestest friends, my fellow moms decided to let me be the only one to bring a swimsuit along.  No fair, guys, I'm the one who just had the baby!  I am so going to remember this next time you get pregnant.  Anyway, according to Mom #1 (I am not using names in order to protect the innocent!), who is of Hawaiian descent, the original cowboys of the American West were from Hawaii, where the paniolos would wear their cattle into submission by herding them into the water.  Hence, the romp in the pool.  It worked, dare I say,  like a charm...I was completely worn out. 

I've always believed that your friends are the family you pick for yourself.  I grew up without much extended family, so I like to graft branches onto my personal family tree.  Mom #1 and Mom #2 are two of my biggest branches.  Wait, that came out wrong.  Boy, am I in trouble now.  Anyway, Mom #1 was the first great friend I made when I moved here 11 years ago, and Mom #2 has been her best friend for longer than that.  We were together through both of their weddings (umm, guys?  you lied...I still haven't found anywhere else to wear those bridesmaid dresses), both of their pregnancies and the births of their children, who are possibly even closer friends than their moms.  When the unthinkable happened three years ago and they moved away, to a rural area far from the almost impossible-to-afford bustle of southern California, I was crushed.  I'd always pictured us as little old ladies in the same senior living complex, cackling over old Animaniacs reruns.  It was like  someone was breaking up the band.  I figured that they had each other and would forget all about me.  Not to mention, I thought I wouldn't be part of their childrens' lives now, and they wouldn't get to see mine.  I'd just met my new husband-to-be, and we planned on trying for a family right away.  I didn't know how I was going to get through a pregnancy without them by my side.

I shouldn't have underestimated them.  There's more than one way to "be there" for someone, and when I finally did get pregnant, they were always there to talk to, and managed never to be smug or smile patronizingly when I bitched and moaned like the first pregant woman in history. At least, they never did it to my face!  My mom became very ill in my second trimester, and after a few tense weeks at her bedside, I was mentally and emotionally fried.  My friends saved the day for me...I drove out for a visit, and the week I spent with them is something I felt truly saved my life.  As tired as I was, though, I didn't get to do nearly as much with the kids as I wanted,  which is why last weekend's jaunt was so much fun.  I felt like I was finally part of the "club", and that I had at long last really earned the title of "Auntie Debbie".  I loved showing Sephie off, and the kids were unbelievable with her, literally fighting over who got to push the stroller.  It was a wonderful early Mothers' Day present.

So I guess that the moral of this story is that family is what you make it, and that love can move over, but it doesn't move on.  Love you guys...see you in the pool.