A Story to make us ALL simply grateful...

Last Friday morning, I packed up Paul w/his animal crackers and milk and whisked him away w/me to the nail salon - Mommy needed a pedicure and as long as I got there by 10:30, he'd probably remain in good spirits through the whole service.

Thankfully, I was taken right away. I parked Paul right across from me in his stroller. He smiled, sipped his milk and ate his crackers - good little boy!

A woman sits down next to me, and her service begins. She smiles at Paul and says hello. He sizes her up, looks at me, back at her and smiles very, very slightly. She is delighted by this and tries to get him to smile more. She asks me, 'how old is he?' I say, '14 mos.' She says, 'I have one that's just 12 mos.' I say, 'It's such a fun age, right?' She smiles wide. Then I ask, 'Do you just have the one?' She says, 'Oh, no. I have two.' I ask, 'Oh, what is their age difference?' 'My son is 5 and my daughter is 12 mos.'

Tangent for a moment - Lately I have been giving a lot of thought to how long I ideally want to wait before we TTC again, so I suddenly find myself intrigued by the age difference between other people's children. So, I proceed w/the conversation....

I say to this woman, 'Oh, that's great...your son is probably pretty independent now, so you can really enjoy your little one.' She says, 'No, not really. My son is terminally ill, so he's not independent at all.'



All I could manage was, 'I am so, so sorry.' And she makes a face as if to say, please - how could you even know? She says, 'Thank you, but it's okay. Your son is gorgeous. God bless him, and enjoy him. I never would have waited so long to have my second child if my son wasn't so ill. Good luck to you.'

I sat there speechless for awhile. I have thought about this woman everyday since Friday. I totally admire her courage and my heart is heavy for her. I just wanted to share this story with all of the Moms and Moms-to-Be so that we could celebrate how lucky we are and share our gratitude for our healthy children. Thanks for listening.

WOW. Stories and experiences like this really make me think of what I do have. And how happy I should be that I have everything I could ever have. I feel so bad for her, though. Her situation is something I wouldn't wish on anyone.
Thanks for the story Claud

I am thankful every day for my two beautiful, healthy children and one gorgeous healthy granddaughter. Stories like this one though remind you never to take your children for granted. Thank you Claud and thank you to that special lady.

I worked with a man (years ago) that lost his 7 year old son to cancer. He and his family even had to live at a Ronald McDonald house in Carolina while his son was being treated. It was one of the saddest things I have ever witnessed in my life.
Having health is more important than anything else, as no amount of money can really buy it.
That women really had a wonderful outlook to be able to share so feeling with you Claud.

Wow, I am going to go give kayla a kiss right now, I feel for that lady, she is so brave.

Lots of hugs for her and her family!

I just wanted to send some to that woman. It takes a certain type of person to be that stong!

Poor woman. It really is sad that there are so many precious children in the world, that are terminally ill... Why ?????

John worked in the I.T. Dept of Sloan Kettering years back. He would work with a heavy heart at the sight of the childrens floor, seeing all these vibrant, precious, and beauitful kids of all ages, walking around with their parents, who had this dismal, lost look on their faces.

Ughhhhhhh...I have the chills.
My heart goes out to this woman. I could NOT imagine if my son broke a bone, never mind was terminally ill. She is in my prayers

I always Thank-God for making Patrick as healthy as he's been!

I always feel for the parents & wonder how they get their strength!!

thanks Claud. It's good to remember the blessings.

I know it's hard for you not to think about this woman since that day...it must had such an impact on you. But remember that she has been given special strengths that you could never imagine to deal with her special child. Her spirituality I am sure runs deep and she grows stronger every day.

That is what I try to tell myself when I see a family suffering. That God takes special care of them.

Oh Claud ... I am so sad now thinking about that poor woman and her child.
Jenny is right in that God will take care of them, but like Anna, I just don't know why these things happen anyway? It's just not fair. That poor child is suffering and that woman is going to lose her son ... Why?
I pray to God that my children will be healthy. It's a scary thought and feeling!

that story really touched my heary. We are all incredibly lucky