My mom, Janice, has been helping me out in amazing ways since I had my baby. Here’s a sweet little story from her about moms, and about what happened when my brother, Jack, was born. –CZ

A little over 31 years ago our son, Jack, was born. He and I shared a hospital room with a friendly woman named Karen and her son, Tommy, who was born that same day. We all got along quite well and had many things in common: Both newborns had two-year-old sisters, both families were from the north suburbs and it turned out we knew many of the same people. It was quite nice.

As Karen and I were preparing to go home, we began to speculate about what would become of our little boys. I don’t know whose idea it was but we decided to keep each other apprised of our sons’ progress via Christmas cards. Here’s the thing that amazes Claire — we actually did.

The cards crossed in the mail every December, photos enclosed. The elementary school pictures were adorable, the high school notes included news of Tommy’s musical prowess and Jack’s cross-country experiences. Both went on to college and graduated in four years. Tommy went to Japan to teach English and Jack became a Captain in the Army. Now Tommy’s married to a lovely woman he met in Japan and they’re living there. Jack is a lawyer in Chicago.

No drama, not ever. Those little boys became wonderful young men — with moms who kept their promises.