Three Amigos

J-Mav has a special thing going. He's a friendly guy, and he has lots of friends. But he has two friends in particular that are his best buds. They are the Three Amigos, and they have been virtually inspeparable since they were in daycare together. In fact, one of them not being able to attend J-Mav's birthday party on the originally scheduled date was a deal-breaker. We had to change the day of of the party. Now two of the three Amigos are having their birthday parties on the same day (for the third year in a row, as it turns out). That's friendship.

One of the Three Amigos lives about 50 yards down the street and was born exactly four weeks after J-Mav. They have literally known each other their entire lives. The third Amigo lives about a mile away, still within the subdivision. His family moved here from VA Beach three summers ago. They formed a bond at daycare that other kids found difficult to penetrate. The cool thing is that the parents of the Three Amigos are all friends, too. We genuinely enjoy each other's company. In fact, once (and we need to do this again) we got a babysitter who was crazy enough to watch all of them at the same time (as well as Keeper Boy) and we six adults went to dinner at The Melting Pot. What a great evening we had!

Last year, when the pool opened, the Three Amigos and their moms started meeting at the pool after work/school every Wednesday evening from 6-8pm. We'd order pizza delivered right to the pool (there's a pool special!) and hang out. When the pool closed, we kept up our weekly ritual, alternating between our three houses and switching nights with the changing sports seasons to accomodate practice/game schedules. Now the pool is open again, and we've resumed meeting there each week.

The thing is, not only do the kids get along extremely well (a rarity, I think, for three six-year-olds to play so well together on a regular basis), but the Amigos' mamas are among my closest friends, and I look forward to my two hours each week with them. We laugh together, complain together, plot together, and even cry together.

Over the time the Three Amigos have been inseparable, one mama has lost a baby late-term and subsequently had a successful pregnancy resulting in a beautiful now-four-month-old baby boy. She is patient, beautiful, determined, and I am so happy that she finally was able to complete her family. The other mama was diagnosed with breast cancer just over a year ago, has undergone several surgeries and procedures, and come out on the other side a survivor. She, too, is beautiful, determined, and amazing. I have largely played the role of babysitter, meal provider, and taxi driver to help out where I could when I was needed. I am thankful that I haven't had a serious situation such as the ones they've been through in the time that we've known each other. But I can say without a doubt in my mind that if I ever do they'll be right there doing whatever I need them to do -- even if I didn't ask them to.

I'm thrilled J-Mav has cultivated two best friends at such a young age. I hope they remain tight throughout their school years. It's pretty cool that the Three Amigos' mamas have formed their own older version of the Three Amigos, too! :-)