“You kinda go into that whole thing thinking ‘one,’ so we were...

“You kinda go into that whole thing thinking ‘one,’ so we were pretty shocked to learn that we were having twins.  We were living in Las Vegas for my husband’s job. We didn’t have any family around us.  And I was getting nervous about doing everything myself.  Our neighborhood had one of those communal mailbox areas, and I think that’s where I first met our neighbors Joe and Marie.  They were the sweetest people.  Marie was getting ready to retire, and one day she mentioned that she’d like to help when the babies came.  ‘I’m not looking for a job,’ she told me. ‘But when I was raising my boys, I always wondered what it would be like to have an extra hour in the day.’  I wasn’t sure about the seriousness of her offer.  But sure enough, on the first morning I was alone with the twins, Marie called and asked if I needed anything.  She came over for about an hour while I took a shower.  Then she came over the next day.  And the next.  Marie ended up coming over every weekday for an entire year.  She’d give me a short break and do whatever needed to be done: prepare the bottles, fold the laundry, wash the dishes.  Every time she walked in the door, she’d always say the same thing: ‘How are my babies today?’  We became good friends during our time together.  My own mother was suffering from Alzheimer’s, so she wasn’t able to provide the comfort and advice I needed.  Marie helped with that too.  It wasn’t anything really deep, just simple stuff about mothering, that otherwise I’d have to find in a book.  Some nights the doorbell would ring and she’d have dinner for us, the most wonderful Italian food.  Her specialty was Mama Marie’s Meatballs.  We ended up leaving the city when my kids turned four, but Marie and I stayed in touch on the phone.  I always sent her a Mother’s Day card.  She was hoping to come to Indiana for the kids’ graduation, but by that time she was too ill to travel.  Marie passed away a few years ago.  But up until the end of her life, every time she’d call, she’d always greet me the same way: ‘How are my babies today?’”  
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