Aunt LuLu

To my son Tommy,

Your Aunt NaNa is getting discharged from the hospital today and looks like everything is going to be okay.  Always welcomed news.  When I get home from work today we will have to make her a "thinking of you get well soon" type card from your own hand.  You have been getting good with the markers lately though you tend to like to color on your hand as much as you do paper.

The past couple days we have not only been worrying about a family member in the hospital (as we always do no matter how big or small the case may be) but we have been scrounging and scurrying to figure out the logistics of you.  With mommy in school and clinicals, and daddy working, and  you in school only two days of the week, working out your schedule and making sure you have someone watching you is a delicate balancing act that is easily thrown off.  In fact the whole balancing act can be mostly summed up as "The Bwama and Na plan" both of whom we rely heavily on.  Of course with Aunt Na in the hospital and your grandmom worried about her baby daughter, we had to make other arrangements.  Actually we probably didn't HAVE to make other arrangements as you grandmother would have made sure you are taken care of but we at least wanted to try to make other arrangements so she can focus on where she wants and needs to be.  That is why your Great Aunt Lu is such a godsend.

She is over the house watching you today and she saved our butt Wednesday as well.  One of the most pleasant people I have found on this earth, Aunt LuLu is one of your most cherished buddies.  When you find out she is coming over you constantly run around the house saying "LuLu is coming".  Though you have lost the younger "Aunt WuWu" pronunciation, it still is amazingly cute.  No doubt you are upstairs with her right now introducing her to each of your stuffed animals as you put them on your bed making a zoo.  The other night, after she watched you during the day, when I took you up to bed I saw 7 animals on your window sill set up to look out at the world.  No doubt the work of a imaginative Lu and Tommy team.

I cannot stress enough how blessed you are with such a loving and caring extended family.  In times of need, anyone and everyone is willing to help where they can.  Be it Uncle Chris picking you up from school,  Aunt Lu coming by to watch you at the house, or your Mommy picking up the girls from school,  everyone is ready to chip in.  Just knowing that is a great relief, but it is also a great responsibility.  You sir will be tasked to continue on this great tradition, a call to duty that you will no doubt meet with great joy!

Sincerely with love from your dad,
Leo