I've had a lot of time to think over the past weekend about how wonderful my life is, and how truly blessed I am for MANY reasons. While Cam was in the hospital, we noticed there were a lot of families in much worse situations than we were. One person's child had been in the NICU for the first full month of his life and the parents were from St. James. They just looked exhausted. Not sure if they were working still, but somehow they had to balance their lives and paying bills back in St. James, MO and being with their sick child here in St. Louis.
There was a garden on the rooftop of the hospital that Cam and I walked to for some fresh air on Saturday. We felt cooped up after 15 or so hours, and the nurse gave us the okay. (Let me state that it was not easy to walk with a toddler stuck with an IV that was connected to a machine.) Anyway, there was another family out there enjoying the fresh air together. They had an older daughter (maybe 8), also with the IV machine. She, however was noticeably a cancer patient. My mind just went to how long she must have been at the hospital. I didn't know if this was her first, tenth or fiftieth visit. I was glad that the hospital provided a garden like this as a little "escape" for her. Most of all, I felt silly for thinking how tired of the hospital I was after only 15 hours. I felt blessed that we had some good news earlier that day and it was likely we would be leaving with a simple antibiotic prescription to take care of Camryn.
These were just two, of many, I personally witnessed.
Anyway, here are some things I spent time thinking about. While there are a lot more blessings in my life, these are some of the top things I spent some time on:
- Supportive, loving, and involved family & friends - as many times as I relayed the hospital experience to family members, I was grateful to know that each of those people cared enough to call and ask.
A healthy family - I'll learn to deal with the runny noses and coughs of all three of us. Sure, they get tiresome. But I recognize they're not permanent. Even the few extra pounds that I'd like to shed (that I STILL refer to as baby weight) aren't so bad.
A healthy, extended family - No serious illnesses to report. Some bumps in the road here and there, but really, not that bad.
Friendship - it will take me too long to describe the power of good friends. It's a great thing!
A beautiful home that provides a roof over my family's head
A good job where I am given the opportunity to learn new things, apply new skills, lead new projects, and get paid for doing so.
Wonderful neighbors and a safe neighborhood to live in
Probably most of all, the fact that God listened to and answered so many prayers for Camryn this weekend, and allowed me to look at my life with a new perspective. Teaching me to remember what's good in my life, but that there's so much more beyond just me and my little world. While I do know this, it's nice to get a swift elbow in the side every now and then to remind you what's important. :-)
2 comments:
Goosebumps, and teary eyes. Thanks for sharing. Its neat sometimes to have those little reminders how blessed we are. Even when we have tough times, its good to remember that usually there are people who have it tougher. I am so glad that Cam is ok!
Thanks for the reminder. I've been kind of a whiner lately about how hard it is having two jobs and a two month old. At least I have a good job and a house to work out of and a loving husband and a healthy baby and a really perfect life.
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