If it wasn’t for these guys, I don’t know what I would have done. When Nathan had some strange symptoms 2 weeks after his appendectomy, Jenn and Greg were the ones who finally convinced him to go back to the ER to get checked out, and it turned out after a CT scan that he had some serious complications.

The day didn’t start off too well either. I’d planned the day around tying up and sending off our taxes. But before they arrived on the scene, our grey water had backed up into our shower again (which we use as a closet), the sewage was full (we didn’t have a hookup), our propane ran out and Nathan was getting increasingly stubborn and upset with me about my repeated insistence that he go to the ER. While he took a shower I (sneakily) called the White’s to collect Tristan for a play day so I could figure out how to solve all these situations.

When they arrived to collect Tristan they had a very brief and effective chat with him about going to the ER right away. I remember him sitting in the doorway step looking down at his flipflops sheepishly while they spoke, looking up with big wide eyelashy eyes and saying, “hokay.” Nothing short of miraculous. And they made it look so easy.

After they drove us to the ER to get him safely checked in, Jenn took Tristan off to play with their amazing kids all day, where they volunteered at the Food Bank. Then Greg helped me dump the sewage and grey water, and drove the RV to get the propane filled up. As I didn’t know what the plans were with Nathan, Greg took some clothes for Tristan to stay overnight. Nathan was admitted and I spent the rest of the night filing our joint tax returns (Federal, State and City!!) then collapsed into bed.

Yesterday I spent almost all day at the hospital and they kept Tristan again for another day of fun and overnight. When I spoke to Tristan on the phone yesterday he was excitedly telling me about how much fun he was having playing with their amazing three kids — Sunny, Kesley and Austin — at the Food Bank and the park, and how badly he wanted to sleep over again. How he got to stay up till midnight and how it was his first ever non-family sleepover. He was so proud. But the Whites are family to us now. They made us feel incredibly comfortable about leaning on them as much as we need to and for the first time in my life I didn’t feel awkward about it. It really did feel like I was asking family for help, and that’s how I know they are family.

Tristan playing with one of his little friends

Nathan was discharged today so they brought me to the hospital to collect him and took us to Walgreen’s to get his prescription. I have him safely tucked into bed back in the RV where he is on a regimen of Family Guy, pain meds, a month’s worth of antibiotics and the usual treats he bleats for. I am fully prepared to entice him into eating food with the promise of milk and cookies. No matter how small an appetite he has, he always has space for milk and cookies.

I love the Whites and hope to make it up to them some day in an equally big way. Once they’re back on the road for their next adventure I hope we’ll get a chance to join up with them and make a caravan of it. Friends have become increasingly important to us, a rare luxury, and more valued than ever on the road.