Friendship is just a few countries away...

I committed a cardinal sin of scrapbooking.

I forgot my camera yesterday. Correction, I didn't forget it, I forgot to charge the battery which enables the camera to take pictures. And I would have had some great photos to share today.

Yesterday, Camille and I traveled to Sioux City, IA to visit some friends from Bogota, Columbia---as in near the equator Bogota, Columbia, for those of you who may be geographically challenged such as myself.

We went to Sioux City to visit a family who has become near and dear to us thanks to the wonder of Vonage, that phone company you've been seeing on infomercials that makes international calling just darn slick. Marcelo, Becky and their three children: Yael, Noa and Itai, have worked their way into our hearts since this time last year, when I met Becky at the NAPVI National Convention here in Omaha. The flashing-red-light commonality we share is that Yael and Camille, just a year apart with Yael being the senior, were both born at 25 weeks and consequently developed severe Retionpathy of Prematurity. Their roads to, through, and from the NICU are hauntingly similar. Today, they stand before us as lovey-dovey, charisma-laden preschoolers.

Over the past 12 months, I have come to value Becky's long-distance friendship in a multitude of ways. Indirectly, I have gotten to know her family. So, you can imagine that I was thrilled when, during the course of a conversation one evening, Becky and I realized that Yael and Camille would be in Detroit for eye appointments within one day of each other! Additionally, Becky and the family would be visiting her mother in Sioux City for a few weeks surrounding that time.

In Michigan, we met up with Marcelo and Yael. Yesterday, we saw the whole family. They wouldn't ever admit to it, but spending time with them is infectiously wonderful. They have created their own system for educating Yael in the schools where a system doesn't exist. While they recognize that visual impairment can make things challenging, their mantra has always been to see Yael as Yael....and then work through the challenges.

It shows. Yael is extremely well-adjusted, endearing and bright. If you think hard about it, you notice that she is visually impaired, but only if you think hard. When you are around her, it seems hard to remember that fact as she delights in the day and draws you right in with her. And she is this way because they have always loved her first and foremost.

So thank you, Marcelo and Becky. Lesson learned.

And do I go so far as to say that in this way, visual impairment has been a blessing, as without it, we would never have met you?