You are a blessing

Dear Aidan,

Everytime I get a little frustrated with you, God seems to always remind me how lucky I am to have you.
My sister (and your Auntie Jess) forwarded me an email yesterday from a woman we both know. She is going through breast cancer treatment in Korea right now. She just informed her family and friends in the email that the doctors had to remove her right breast as the cancer had spread. Although this is very sad news as it is, the saddest news of all was the fact that she was pregnant when she found out that she had breast cancer. Because of the intense treatment that she has to go through the doctors told her that she would have to abort the baby. Here is an excerpt from her email:

As they wheeled me into the surgery room, I started sobbing uncontrollably. The only reason that waterfall of tears started was because I put my hands over my belly and I could feel the slight baby bump that had started to form. I knew it was the last time I would have my baby, so I said goodbye and that started the tears. The nurses and the doctors thought I was crying because I was afraid of the surgery. That made me laugh. I told them you could cut my leg off and I wouldn't cry over the loss, it was the fact of losing my child. They thought it was my first pregnancy and were really sympathetic until they found out it was my fourth. Not that it matters to any parent what number of children you have when you lose one. The interns and nurses made small talk with me and we chitchatted until they put the mask on and that was the last I remember.

The amazing thing is how strong she is throughout this ordeal. At the end of her email she actually thanked God.

Her story is just one of many people's stories that made me realize how precious you are.

Today in Oprah there was a story of a stay-at-home mom that was so frustrated at being home all day and taking care of her baby that the sight of Playdoh made her want to kill herself. Oprah sent this woman to another woman's home in Utah. This 2nd woman, named Stephanie, was a burn victim. I missed the beginning of the show so I don't know how she got burnt. However, she also was a stay-at-home mom. Basically the 1st woman (sorry, but I forgot her name) followed around Stephanie to see her day-to-day activities. One of the things that really stuck out for me and the 1st woman was when Stephanie was giving her 2 kids a bath. After the bath her kids asked their mom to hold them, but she couldn't because of how severely burnt she was. Stephanie told the 1st woman that it broke her heart the first time her kids asked her to lift them up after the bath so that she could wrap them up and keep them warm. She could not do any of the menial tasks that people take for granted. That really opened up the 1st woman's eyes. The very tasks that was making the 1st woman go crazy and want to kill herself was the very reason Stephanie wanted to survive. Stephanie wanted to live so that she could take her kids to school and to cut their apples when they were hungry. When the 1st woman returned home she started spending more quality time with her daughter, even sitting through a whole card game of Go Fish! without getting up to do something else like taking the clothes out of the dryer.

Aidan, I want you to take these stories with you as you get older and know that you should never take your life for granted. You are a gift from God. I know I will try my best to be the best mom that I can be.