Things could ALWAYS be worse!

One time we were in Ikea in New Haven. (This was towards the tail end of my daughters life) and there was this lady and she was pushing around a cart or some sort of stroller and in the cart/stroller was a little girl. I would guess the girl was maybe 12 or 13 years old but she was extremely small and had some sort of brace around her head. It looked like she had some form of dwarfism and maybe some other handicaps. But I can hear the little girl talking. So I'm looking at the mother and the little girl, and the mother gave me this mean look as though she thought I was staring at her daughter in some bad, condescending or derogatory way.

I remember it vividly because at the time, my daughter was in a hospital dying. She was on 15-20 different medicines hooked up to about 5 machines. She couldn't move on her own at all. I hadn't heard her voice or her make noise in over a year.  So I wasn't really staring at the lady and the girl in any derogatory or judgmental or condescending way.  I was just kind of looking at the woman and the little girl in my own world. Like I was in some kind of  a trance. I wasn't thinking any bad or derogatory thoughts. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I was actually thinking of how lucky the mother was. Despite the little girls handicaps and dwarfism, I was thinking how lucky the mother was to be able to speak with her daughter and hear her daughters voice, and how lucky the mother was to be able to pack her daughter up and bring her into stores and take her shopping and stuff.

 I HAVE LEARNED

1) That no matter how bad our circumstances are or might get, I have learned not to be negative or bitter or angry about my circumstances. I have instead learned to be grateful, because, no matter how bad we think we  have it, no matter how bad life seems, no matter how big or bad our problems are there are people in the world who would love to trade problems with us because theirs are just so much worse. I'VE LEARNED TO BE GRATEFUL FOR OUR CIRCUMSTANCES, BECAUSE THEY COULD ALWAYS BE WORSE.

2) In any given situation you never know what a person you encounter is going through or dealing with. The best bet is to just love EVERYBODY, and learn to respect and appreciate everybody and their story. Because EVERYBODY HAS A STORY!

3) Don't take for granted the fact that children are always just born healthy. It doesn't always go that way. Don't lose sight of exactly how blessed you are to have living, breathing, healthy children.

4) etc etc,

 
I ONCE CRIED THE BLUES BECAUSE I HAD NO SHOES. WELL, THAT WAS UNTIL I MET A MAN WHO HAD NO FEET!
-Unknown


I can go on forever with lessons I learned from this experience. But I wont, Ill leave y'all alone but before I do, please CELEBRATE YOUR LIVES, AND GIVE THANKS FOR YOUR CHILDREN!


PEACE!