3rd Annual-Tim is My Hero Day

Today, in my world, is Tim is My Hero Day. Tim is a family friend of ours that we met at Ft. Benning, GA. On December 19, 2005 Matt was at the schoolhouse and Tim was at our house wrapping presents for his wife. (Tim has a snoopy wife that loved to seek out all her gifts so Tim ordered everything online and had it delivered to our house.) I was sitting at the kitchen table watching Tim wrap his wife's gifts when all of a sudden...I get the sensation that I'm wetting my pants. HOW EMBARRASSING? So I excuse myself from the table and go into the bathroom. Well, friends, I'm not wetting my pants, that's the good news. But I'm 33 weeks pregnant and my water just broke! I'm in a panic in the bathroom, my hands are shaking and my face is totally white as a ghost! What am I going to do? I go back to the table and sit down like nothing is wrong. I'm not sure what my game plan was at that point, but acting cool was objective number one! Tim could tell something was wrong and so he asks me, "What happened in there, Tami?" "Nothing" "Tami, I have 4 children. You can tell me what happened in there." "Well, I don't know. I think my water broke." Well Tim is such a kind, calm and convincing man that his next question shocks me, "What color was the fluid?" are you serious? I tell him it was clear and he told me that was good news. I have no idea how he knows all this, but I'm taking is word for it. He tells me that everything is just fine and that we are just going to take care of it. He calms me down so much that I'm trying to pack a bag for myself, I take the dog outside to go potty and I won't ride in his new truck without a blanket under me. Meanwhile, Tim is sweating bullets inside because he was so confident and calm that he has me WAY too calm. He now starts to speed up the process of getting to the hospital without putting me back into panic mode. We get in his truck, call Matt on the way to the hospital. Tim drives me right up to the front door of the ER, parks his truck and walks me in. He gets me to the LD floor and helps me check in. He doesn't leave me for one second, not even to move his truck out of the ER entrance, until Matt has arrived. I won't ever forget what Tim did for me that day. I'm not sure how that all would have played out if he hadn't been there. Matt wasn't home and I would have been a mess. Tim was calm, helpful, experienced and assertive...everything I needed in that moment. So, here's to you Timmy. We love you and miss you. And thank you for helping me on a day I will never forget. You are permanently a member of our family for the help you gave me on that special and scary day. Wish you were here to see the little man turn 3.