Super sister to the rescue!!

[caption id="attachment_715" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Susan demonstrated her sense of humor to me at a very young age."][/caption]

My sister is the first person I call when something happens--a hospital stay, a diagnosis, a pregnancy, a birth.  I know the family politics and I would be in very big trouble if she were not the first person I would call.  Plus, if I tell her I won't have to fill her in on any back story about what has happened prior, because she is already filled in on ALL the big parts.  But even without all the background information, she is such a good listener, she just "gets it".  On any forms that say, 'emergency information'  I always put my sister even though she lives in Tennessee and we live in Wisconsin because I know that should there be an emergency, she would do whatever it takes to make things right again (not to worry, I put Thom down too).

I remember when we were growing up how we would sit on my Dad's front steps during our weekend stays and eat Kool-aid straight outta the can.  Or how we made cookie dough every day after school before my mom arrived home in Junior High.  And how one day she got her fingers caught in the mixer blades and we called the police.  Suddenly a huge fire truck arrived at our doorstep to

[caption id="attachment_717" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Susan diverts a cake disaster, already looking out for me!"][/caption]

take her to the hospital (oh yea, we may have called the mixer blades "the blender" and they thought her fingers were sliced off. )

To demonstrate how in our family we panic first and ask questions later, I always refer to this handy dandy story as the prime example.  One weekend we were in Kansas City for some event--a wedding, a graduation, I'm not even sure now what was so important.  Thom & I were riding in the back of Susan & Ghany's car.  Thom got out of the car before Susan had.  As Susan emerged from the car, Thom calmly asked her if she could take the brake off and let the car roll forward.  Susan did just so and then asked Thom why he had made such an unusual request.  Thom calmly responded that the car had been on his foot.  Susan then went into full panic mode and said they should have Ghany look at it, etc.  Thom knew that if he'd said immediately, "The car is on my foot", Susan would not have been able to remove the car as quickly in her panicked state of mind. 

[caption id="attachment_724" align="alignleft" width="199" caption="Susan, my maid of honor, and Ghany at our wedding."][/caption]

Another time, we were in Kansas City for Thanksgiving.  Susan and Ghany are the most wonderful hosts, and we try to take advantage of this fact by allowing them to host as many family functions as they would like, with us, as course, as their gracious guests.  We have always been too fearful to host any entire family extravaganza ourselves.  This particular Thanksgiving, Susan and Ghany had outdone themselves, as usual.  Susan raced around the kitchen and dining room areas collecting plates and checking on all of her guests.  Thom was sitting eating quietly at our table, fork in mid-air, when Susan the whirlwind entertainer came in to assist us with anything.  She scooped up Thom's plate and whisked it off to the kitchen to be cleaned.  Thom calmly laid his fork down on the table and said, "I guess I was done." 

A couple of years ago, we went to Memphis to visit the Zafers and meet their newest member, Dariush.  I think my favorite part of the visit, besides, of course, playing and interacting with my adorable nieces and nephew, was an evening when Susan was already in bed and I came up and we just sat on the bed and chatted.  It was one of those movie moments, when your life feels as perfect as a movie.  It doesn't seem like you can plan those moments, they seem to simply occur when you least expect them.  So there Susan and I were just sitting on the bed bonding, I think she might have been nursing Dariush at the same time, but we just

[caption id="attachment_719" align="alignright" width="298" caption="Another time Susan & I were hangin in our pjs..."][/caption]

connected in an easy, comfortable way.  I savor and collect those quiet moments between us, particularly since now we are both outnumbered in children (she has 3) so those moments are about as rare as 60 degrees in January in Wisconsin, it happens, but don't count on it happening often. 

Last spring, when Ellie was in the hospital, my inner Crazy Mamma called Susan.  At the time, Ellie was sedated and intubated (a tube down her throat).  I believe, and anyone can correct me here if I'm wrong, that when you are intubated you are always sedated because too often the patient will try to rip the tube out if they are not sedated.  Well, Ellie had been intubated for so long that the sedation was not working as well.  She opened her eyes and she started making a funny noise.  At first, I could not tell if she was trying to talk or if she was having trouble breathing (she had had pneumonia) or what.  But, then I realized with sudden clarity and dread that she was actually crying but could not make any noises.  It was one of the saddest things I had ever seen.  I know you can probably think of twenty things sadder than that, but I am telling you if you had been there, this might have ranked at least in your top five or maybe top ten of the saddest.  I am serious.  When they were able to get Ellie sedated once more for a procedure she was undergoing, they asked me to leave the room and I called my sister.  I began to cry as I told her the story.  She was as outraged and saddened as I was.  We both cried together, me standing by the elevator in the hospital.  Then once I had gathered my strength, I went back into the PICU and asked to speak to the resident (the HEAD doctor) to discuss what we could do to keep Ellie more comfortable.  Then the doctors put her on something that made her laugh all the time, no matter what I did as entertainment, and we all lived happily ever after.   

I do think that Susan has just gotten better and better.  She seems to have more fun now, relishing her moments with her children.  She laughs more often.  Sometimes when I am feeling wimpy and in need of a break, I think of Susan how often she has had all 3 children on her own while Ghany is on call or traveling or at yoga.  And she encourages Ghany to do all of these activities because they make him feel so happy.  WOW.  She is one SUPERmom and SUPERsister to boot.