Friday, October 31, 2008

54 - A Halloween full of gratitude...



I know, I know...some of the regular readers may be asking themselves "Is this an impostor blogger?". I must admit that the negativity has flowed freely on this blog over the last few weeks, but today was a good day. Actually, it was a great day. I felt joy and here's why:

Back in March, my best friend gave birth to her second son, Aaron (the little one pictured in the above photo). He was born after her uterus ruptured, and he was placed on a cool cap for 72 hours (check out her blog at coolcapcutie.blogspot.com). It was a very traumatic experience for both mom and baby. He spent a few weeks in the nicu and many days were touch and go. I remember those weeks following Aaron's birth vividly (obviously not nearly as vividly as Aaron's mom) - I would wake up in the middle of the night crying...I was crying in my sleep. I was so grateful that my best friend was ok, but I really didn't know if Aaron was going to make it.

Well - Aaron has made it. He has beyond "made it". He is just shy of 8 months and is currently meeting all his milestones. He and his big brother, Sam, came over my house today to jump in leaves. After some rigorous outdoor play, we came inside and Aaron chased Sam all around the sunroom - crawling at lightning speed...and laughing that hearty infant laugh. And for the first time in a very long time I felt joy. And gratitude that both boys and mom are such a huge part of my life.

The second photo above is the cause of my second joyful experience today. After mom and boys left, I went into the basement to pick up. Sam played with a toy train and my husband's legos (from when Alex was a kid). I have a desk in the basement where I keep all my materials for the courses that I teach. In the process of cleaning up, I discovered the lovely above picture. Sam took it upon himself to decorate one of my student's term papers. I laughed sooo hard when I found it and immediately called Lauren. About 20 minutes later I got a somber phone call from Sam - "I'm sorry for drawing on your work paper Auntie Chris...it won't happen again.". It's ok Sam - you made your Auntie Chris laugh really hard for the first time in a very long time.

The day was topped off by going out to dinner with some very close friends - this wonderful couple Alex and I have known for several years. We always have a really good, comfortable time with them. I was going to pass out candy, but Alex didn't end up being home - I didn't feel like passing it out by myself, so I gave them a call last minute and we went out for Korean. They treated me -so nice.

It was a good day.

6 comments:

Polly Gamwich said...

It's nice to have breaks from all the heartache, pain, and questioning ... isn't it?

So glad to see that Aaron and his mommy are doing fine 8 months later - what a testimony!

Emily (Apron Strings) said...

What a wonderful day! Had to chuckle about the drawing ... and now I need to know if the paper was worth the grade A drawing on it!

DAVs said...

I love fall leaves!
I'm glad you had some moments of intense joy and happiness--hoping they come closer and closer together.

Jill said...

What a great story-glad Aaron is doing well! Glad you had a good day.

coolcapmom said...

Hey, I tried to post yesterday, guess it didn't make it. I wanted to tell you that we are all SO grateful for you. You are so special in our lives. I know that you WILL be a wonderful mom someday, somehow. With love from the mother of the graffiti artist.

Polly Gamwich said...

Ok, I just saw the comment where you said I look like your cousin ... so my question is ... how old is she? does she have good eggs? is she the altruistic type that say ... might just want to gimme all her eggs?

ok, just kidding. ok, only partially kidding.

happy friday!