Reminded

I am reminded this week just how fragile life can be. Matt Clary, a courageous young man, lost his battle with the evil dragon named Cancer on Tuesday. I cannot even begin to imagine the heartache of his family. His mother, who gave birth to him and nurtured him...his father, who taught him to hold a bat and how to treat a girl...his sister, who grew up under his protection - how do you bury a child? My heart truly aches for this family.

A good friend, Melia Greene, had to have aortic valve replacement today - she is my age. Her son is just a year younger than my Cooper and her daughter is just a little older than Gabriel. The updates came periodically today on her Caringbridge page and each one painted a picture of a family, waiting anxiously and praying faithfully for her. She spent the entire day in surgery and tonight, she is out and in recovery. Again, my heart aches for this family...I cannot imagine being far away from home, with small children, and going through so much.

I look at my own life, right now at this moment, and I've got it made. I am looking at Craig, holding Gabe on his lap and Emma in his arms, while they watch Uncle Buck on TV. Cooper still kisses me and gives me a hug every day. Molly still likes to hang out with me [We having a girls night tomorrow night ♥] and tells me anything and everything. Yes...I get upset when Gabe won't use the potty [or uses it in the floor] or when Emma says, "Momma" for the 984th time in 10 minutes. No...we don't have enough money to buy a house or a car big enough for our family nor do we have money to take lavish vacations to Disney World [or even Myrtle Beach]. But we are healthy and we are together and we are all madly in love.

I am so thankful for all of the blessings [none of which I deserve for any reason whatsoever] that God has bestowed upon me. I am thankful for the four wet kisses and hugs I get every morning as I am frantically leaving the house. I am thankful for Emma being able to kick my tail on the Wii and those times when Gabe wants me to play "mans" with him. I am thankful that I got to watch Cooper play basketball tonight at the park [And I love watching him run, with his tongue hanging out]. I am thankful that Molly and I can talk about reading "The Lovely Bones" and act silly singing in the car - all in the same day. I am thankful that Craig still sends me love notes via email [like today], for no particular reason, except that he loves me ♥. I am thankful for the children I teach, that make me laugh [even when they are calling me name] and for all of the children I have taught, that have made me the teacher I am today. I am thankful for my parents, who taught me to never, ever settle for less than what I could do [then try even harder to do better] and for the beautiful sister that God made my best friend. I am thankful for every single friend I've met along the way - classmates, college roommates, co-workers, parents, and teammates.

As always....life is good:)

♥ Missy