Mixed Nuts: Being Thankful

Quotes

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." - Helen Keller
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
You may never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.- Unknown
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow' ~Helen Keller
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss
"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
"God doesn't give children with disabilities to strong people: He gives them to ordinary, everyday people, then He helps the parents to grow stronger through the journey. Raising a child with special needs doesn't TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family."Author Unknown
I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go – Abraham Lincoln
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle - Albert Einstein
The journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step
Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale
Where there is great love, there are always miracles - Willa Cather
The Difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness
There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.
Be the change you want to see in the world
Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big Your God is..........
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it
Fall down seven times - get up eight - unknown
Despite our differences, we sink or swim together
Life may not be the party we expected, but while we are here, we might as well dance
"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -Confucius

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Being Thankful

Every year at this time, I like to remind myself of how blessed I am. I think about it on a daily basis - how lucky we really are. We have a beautiful home, enough food on our table, and very little worries. We have beautiful healthy children, and our own health.

But today, I talked with a mom on the phone that was very upset about something that was physically happening to her child. Her little boy has "lazy eye" and mom was so upset. Anything wrong with our children is upsetting, but talking to this mom was hard for me. Her son's lazy eye will be fixed. His sight will remain, and he will go on for life. But she kept talking about he is "legally blind" (which he is not), and "if he didn't have his good eye he would be completely blind".

I am sure you can guess why this was hard for me. I wanted to tell her that she should be thankful that what her son had was all it was - a temporary problem that would resolve with some eye patching. When we have to watch Finley slowly go blind and we cannot do anything about it. She should be thankful.

But then I thought - to her, this is devestating news. To her, this is something that is upsetting to her. So, I bit my tongue, and gave her my sympathy. She doesn't need to hear that my situation might be a little worse than hers. Because to her, it isn't. To her - this was more than she could handle, and it had brought her to tears.

So for that, I am thankful that I have been able to deal with Finley's diagnosis and move beyond the tears. Do we still cry? Of course. I look at her sometimes and just want to yell how unfair it is - especially since she has no idea what is coming. But - I am thankful for the progress we have made with education on LCA, fundraising for a cure, and our strength we have gained as a family. I am thankful that Mat and I were able to deal with this as a team, and have grown closer because of it.

So no - I couldn't be bitter with this mom in the end. I hope that someday she can be thankful that her son still has his sight. That someday he will drive. I hope that she can come out on the other side of this thankful.

When I look back over the last year, and see the progress we have made - learning braille, teaching our children braille, and making the most of our situation, I cannot believe it has only been a year. In this year, our family - thanks to our family and friends - has been able to give around $30,000 to research for LCA. That is truly amazing. I am so thankful for my family and friends, and strangers that made our dream of Finley to always be a sighted person a little closer to reality.

We are truly blessed. We are truly loved. We can always tell Finley that we - and about 1000 of her closest friends - fought as hard as they could. For her. And I know - she will be thankful.