Blessings

For those who are frequent readers of my blog (although considering I have not blogged lately I am not sure how many readers I still have) or personal friends, you know the month of August is a particularly hard one. Two years ago today, my mother died. Twelve years ago on August 13th, our 3.5 month old daughter, Allison Grace, died. My mother was buried on the day Allison died. Allison was buried on my parents' wedding anniversary. My mother's birthday was August 27. So yes, my family would perfectly be okay if the month of August did not exist. 

Last night I was laying in bed and thought about how my mom was a "glass full" type of person. She was a firm believer that when life handed you lemons, you make lemonade. When you get knocked down, you put one foot in front of the other and go on. She is the reason I am the person I am today. So today, to honor my mom, I am going to look at today as half-full. Rather than dwell on what I am missing, I am going to count my blessings and be thankful for what I do have, for who I have and what I have had. 

I am very blessed. Matt and I both managed to graduate college while raising a baby. Matt has a fantastic job and I am blessed to be able to be at home with my kids. I have a wonderful husband who I am blessed to wake up to every day. I have three healthy kids who love Jesus. We had 101 days with Allison, more than some parents are ever given. I had 37 years with my mother, and while not every moment was rosy, I am so thankful for every day. I have some fantastic friends, who I know are always when I need them. Our family has been given opportunities to see and understand parts of the world that most will never experience. Yes, there have been hard times and dark days that I would not wish on my worst enemy, but I am also a very blessed person. And today I am going to focus on these and so many more blessings that I have.

So today, my challenge is this: Look around you. No matter what you are going through or how dark your day may be, there is something blessing you today. Focus on this blessing today. Use it as a reminder that there are rainbows at the end of the storm.

My mom and I watching the Buckeye football bowl game right before I left for Japan. 

 “Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing” ― Camille Pissarro

True Blessings

We all go through some bumpy roads in life. Some are paved with a pothole here and there, while others are totally beyond repair and in desperate need of being redone. Some roads are brightly lit, while others are dirt trails leading into a path full of thorns and weeds.  But no matter what the path may be, I think the Beetles said it best when they sang: "I get by with a little help from my friends."

In my life I have been truly blessed with some amazing people. When my MIL passed away, we came home to a house that had been cleaned and a yard that had been mowed. When we went through the hellish time with Allison and then loosing her, I cannot even begin to say all the amazing things people did, both ones we knew and ones we didn't. Someone we had never met held a blood drive for Allison because neither Matt nor I were able to donate blood to her. Letters and cards of support and prayers came from all over the world. To know that people all over the world were praying for my family and my daughter, and still do to this day, is just too overwhelming to even form words. We have friends from college that we know would jump in front of a bus for us, and I hope they know we would do the same.

In each move we have made, we have met people whom we have formed bonds with that will last a lifetime. We have some friends who went above what a friend should do and held our dying dog in their arms until she passed while my family was on vacation. Friends who laid in bed with me for 4 weeks every day and watched The Food Network while I was on bed rest with Samantha.  This past week friends have driven me places, shopped for me and even sat and cleaned my disgusting knee while getting my stitches out. And as crazy as it sounds, I have some very close friends who I have never even met in person. (Okay that does make me sound just a wee bit crazy) 

A true friend is someone who listens to your crazy babble and doesn't tell you what an idiot you are (however sometimes a little bit of tough love is necessary). Someone who doesn't care if you lock yourself out of the house for the 5th time and need their husband to climb through the window and let you in. Someone who can let you know they care without ever speaking a word. Someone who can just say "Hey, I care".

One thing I have learned, especially over the past few years, is distance and time doesn't make a friend. You can be 13,000 miles away and still be an amazing friend. There are people who you may only see or talk to a few times a year, or once in 5 years, and you pick right up where you left off. It's like time never even had passed. Friends who you know when you really need shoulder to cry on or help standing up, you can call, no matter when the last time you may have talked. 

  

"Friends are the most important ingredient in this recipe of life." And I have been blessed made some amazing recipes in my life. I just hope that I have been just as good of an ingredient to their recipe as they have been to mine.