Small Town Love Then & Now

Ah Babylon.  The small village on the south shore of Long Island.  This is where I (Tobey) lived until I was 21.  No matter where life has taken me, Babylon will always be home.  I loved growing up in a small town.  A town where everyone knows each other.  A town that helps each other in times of need.  A town that felt safe growing up. In the 19 years since I left NY, I have returned several times a year to see my family.  I can walk down Deer Park Ave (the main road that runs down town) and see tons of familiar faces.  It is a great place to grow up and then to stay and raise a family!

A few years ago, when my brother was diagnosed with leukemia, people that I hadn't heard from in years reached out to see how they could help. At that time, we started Chip's Army.  A support group for Chip during his battle with cancer.  One fundraiser in Babylon raised almost $4000 for Chip's medical bills.  During Chip's final days, Babylonians flew to San Diego to see him one last time and to pay respect to the family.  And, in May 2012, there was an amazing memorial service on the beach to celebrate Chip's life.  If you're from Babylon, you get the enormous amount of love & support we felt during this difficult time for our family.

Flash forward 2 years to Mother's Day 2014.  I come home from work and decide to check email before bed.  I received this message, along with a $500 donation to our adoption fund:

"A few fellow BHS Alum hope this helps bring your son home sooner. We'll send an email on your Facebook Page with the messages included with donations. Happy Mother's Day Tobey!!"

I shared with Todd and all we could do was hug and tear up as our family once again feels the love and support of Babylon.

Thank you to the gals that set this up. Thank you to those that gave. Thank you to those that can't give but support us in so many other ways. Thank you to those that pray for us and Mahesh everyday. And thank you Babylon for being Babylon! Your Mother's Day gift put us over the half way mark for our fundraising goal!

We cannot wait for the day we can take Mahesh to visit Babylon and to share all of the encouraging messages we received during our journey to bring him home.