Grateful

One of Megan’s favorite songs comes from The Muppet Movie and echoes through our home daily……on repeat.

The first line is the best and says, “I’ve got everything that I need, right in front of me…”.  Those words could not be any truer! I have a warm, happy home. Good health.  Delicious food. A husband who takes excellent care of his family and works hard to provide.  Cars that get us where we need to be daily and more importantly, they afford us memorable family road trips. We have clean clothes. And children who love each other, are kind, sensitive souls and  well behaved.  Our family loves each other deeply. If we lost everything, our love for one another would remain strong and steady.  The luxuries of life I listed, are merely that, luxuries. I never want to forget how fortunate we are!  Especially since it’s easy to get busy with life and take it all for granted.  Thanksgiving, and the holidays in general, are perfect for this reason alone.  It gives us a chance to slow down and ponder all that we have to be grateful for.

I can’t believe that in a few short days, we’ll be gathered together with those near and dear to us.  Sharing traditions along with a very special meal in honor of Thanksgiving.  Right now, my heart is overflowing with gratitude.  Gratitude for the love and support of family, friends,  acquaintances and even strangers.  Interestingly, November started out on a very overwhelming note for me.  Overwhelming in the sense that there has been an outpouring of compassion for my family.  There have been several times where I have been so overcome by the goodness of others, that tears of gratitude have been shed.

It all started three weeks ago when our family had the pleasure of going out in the community and raising Down syndrome awareness at our annual Buddy Walk.

Shortly before the Buddy walk, my husband and I decided that we’d try to collect donations for this great cause.  We’ve never done this before, so we didn’t know how much we could realistically raise in such a short time frame.  Much to our surprise, we hit our goal in just 48 hours!  And by the time we joined hundreds of other families at Angel Stadium to march for our loved ones born with a little something extra, we’d exceeded our goal by far more than we could ever have imagined!

This was such a heart-warming lesson and experience for me.  People really  do have big hearts.  What took me back more than anything else, was the realization that people who really don’t know our family, or Megan for that matter, opened their wallets and gave to a cause that means the world to us.  Really, if I’m being completely honest, I don’t care about the money.  That’s not what it’s about.  It was about the incredible amount of support I felt from others for my daughter. I was floored by the genuine love these people have for Megan, for their thoughtful investment in her future and ultimately, giving her a chance at a bright one!

I love my daughter with all my heart.  I want the best for her. She has such a passion for life and people.  And if she could, I know that she’d wrap her little arms around all her supporters and give them the hugest hug ever. It would be her way of thanking them without uttering a single word. Plus, this physical gesture would be a far more powerful way of saying Thank You!  Because as we all know, actions speak louder than words.

The Buddy Walk was great fun!  We arrived right in time for Megan to hop on stage and participate in a Signing Time performance.

Megan adores watching Signing Time DVDs and knows all the songs by heart.

When they kicked off the show with her favorite tune, she was all smiles and did all the signs she knew to the song, along with her new found friends.

After it was over, we gathered together with 120+ other Buddy Walk teams and walked around the outside of the stadium.  It was an incredible turn out.

We left the Buddy Walk with full hearts and yellow bracelets we wore proudly around our wrists which say, “Love Syndrome”.   Because if you know anyone with Down syndrome, you know they are full of LOVE and share it through their sweet smiles, spirited waves and heartwarming hugs.

During our drive home from the Buddy Walk I got a phone call from my sister in Utah.  This was one of those dreaded phone calls.  The kind that goes like this, “Dad is in ICU with a blood clot in his lung”.  My heart raced, unanswered questions filled my mind, and I  choked back a flood of tears. I knew that pulmonary embolisms are life threatening.  When I hung up, my sensitive husband said, “Do I need to buy you a plane ticket?”  At that moment, I couldn’t answer his question.  However, by the time we pulled in the driveway, I could no longer choke back the tears.  I was scared and concerned for the well-being of my father.  When we got out of the car, my loving man pulled me in for a tight hug and said nothing. Then he went straight to his computer, turned it on,  checked available flights and took care of business.  Before I knew it, I had tickets in my hand and would be boarding a plane for Utah less than 24 hours later to be with my dad and family in Utah.

It’s where I needed to be.  I needed to be there for my mom and dad. I’m grateful to be blessed with a loving husband who recognizes the needs of his family as they arise.

I don’t request prayers from others very often, but I felt this particular circumstance warranted it.  So, I opened up my favorite app, Instagram, and left a note to my friends and followers there to say a prayer for my father.

The outpouring of love was once again overwhelming.  Especially since these are for the most part, people I’ve never met.  Yet, every time I opened that app, there were tender messages that gave me strength. I shared these little notes with my parents during our visit and they were moved to tears to know that countless prayers were being offered up by complete strangers.  Prayers for good health to be restored to my dad.  Three days after I arrived, my dad was released from the hospital!

He is doing much better and the blood clot is being managed with medication.  I’m beyond grateful for modern medicine and technology that brings people together in amazing ways.  {To each of you readers who follow me on Instagram and left my dad and me such heart-felt messages of love and concern, I thank you with my whole heart and soul.  You will never know how much that meant to me. And more importantly, to both my mom and dad.}

When it was time for me to leave Saturday morning, to head back home, it was a bittersweet moment.  I was excited to be with my husband and kids again, but hard for me to leave my loved ones in Utah.

However, I left at peace knowing I could be there in my dad’s hour of need. You can’t put a price tag on that kind of peace or the countless hours of quality time I spent with my family.

I’ve got everything that I need, right in front of me.  Family. Friends. And most importantly, love.

I couldn’t be more grateful.

I’m truly thankful for each of you!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!