Saturday, May 28, 2011

paying it forward.

This photo of the young Vespa family was taken on May 26, 1986 on the occasion of Mona's 5th birthday. Now back up 3 more years for this story...

When we arrived in St. Louis on April 4, 2011 for Mike's cancer surgery, we sat down with the Vespas in our "home away from home" with a glass of wine in hand. Janice shared that she just remembered this story: Back in 1982 we lived in the same apartment in Clayton with the Vespas. When Mona was just a baby, Tom had some surgery that required him to be hospitalized for 18 days. Janice was working 12 hours shifts as a nurse at another hospital, and would come home and put baby Mona to bed. She asked me to come down to stay with Mona so she could spend some time with Tom at the hospital.

We were new friends who had met just 6 months earlier but I was glad to do it (and Janice remembers that I brought my needlepoint & spent the time stitching.) Janice wanted to pay me or do something special for me in return for the favor. I told her that it was not necessary at all but "maybe someday you'll be able to return the favor".

What a great memory to surface right before the favor was returned 100 fold.

And Happy 30th Birthday, Mona!

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