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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Today, I choose to be grateful....

Today I choose to be grateful for my beautiful children and their heartwarming giggles! I recently have been feeling very sorry for myself and my girls-that they will grow up without their Daddy here, but today I am choosing to be grateful that they got to know him and love him while he was here. When they crawl over to the table where I keep his picture in the living room and pull up to look at it and wave or blow kisses to him, I feel blessed that they remember him and have a connection to him. It pulls at my heartstrings to see them wave and blow kisses at a picture, but at the same time I am grateful that they know who it is in the picture and want to connect with him.



So what changed my outlook you wonder?!?! Well....



I heard on the news yesterday about a preemie in the NICU in Australia. Everyday her parents drove an hour each way to visit her in the NICU- they did this twice a day to see their baby girl. On the way home a few days ago they were in a car accident and both parents were killed. It jolted me back to reality to realize that this poor little girl will never know either of her parents or remember anything about them- she is only 13 days old. My girls at least had enough time with their Daddy to know who he is and to have built a bond with him. They also still have one parent left, which means I need to get in the game and quit feeling sorry for myself. They need an active, involved, in-the-moment mommy who can teach them all about their daddy.



My committment to my beautiful children is to be present with them, relishing the gift of time that we have together, bonding with them as often as I can and not merely going through the daily motions of being a parent. It's easy to get stuck in the ruts and routines of life and not really be in the here and now- I challenge all of you to find a way to be more present with yourselves and your children...and remind me to be present with mine!



Grief comes in waves and cycles, and today is a good day. Tomorrow may not hold the same fortune- I am learning to take the good moments as they come and savor them. I have many blessings, so today I choose to be grateful.

3 comments:

  1. Well said. What a great reminder for all of us. It's so easy to down or stuck in a rut and we need to keep remember how grateful we are for our lives!

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  2. Oh wow. How horribly sad. They are very lucky to have known thier daddy for as long as they did. And they are just as lucky to have such a wonderful and strong mama! :)

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