Food for thought ...

I came home from a night out with the girls on Friday night all full of monkey girl and little dude stories to post for both your reading enjoyment and to do my weekly purge of parenting "woes" and "wows", and received news via Facebook that changed my perspective.

A friend of mine from junior high school that I had reconnected with on Facebook had posted photos a few weeks back of her son who had been born premature at 23 weeks. For just over two weeks extra prayers were being said by a large network of people to help the family and their sweet little boy make it from one day to the next. I, along with several other people, watched her postings for updates on how the baby was doing and was constantly amazed by the strength and courage that it must have taken for her to share her story. So on Friday night while I was checking Facebook just like it was any other day, I saw a note amongst all of the updates and comments that started with the words "It is with heavy hearts ...", this heartbreaking announcement came only 18 days after the "little man's" parents welcomed him into the world with loving arms and hopeful hearts.

I cannot even imagine, and pray that I never know, the pain of losing a child. Today (Sunday), there was a note posted by a friend of the family entitled 18 days in which the author wrote about all of the things that she had been worrying about during the time that her friends were spending the precious moments of their son's short life. The list included things like bills, flu shots and the start of a new school year ... the same things that I had given extra thought to over the last 18 days, and I was struck by how so many of us (myself included)wander through life never really knowing how blessed we are and it takes staring tragedy in the face to really take inventory of all of the things that we have to be thankful for, and to fully realize just how fragile life is.

After shutting down the computer on Friday I went upstairs and snuck into each of my kids'rooms and just sat for a minute, hugged them a little harder than I might have otherwise and said a little thank you for these amazing little people and all of the lessons that they have taught me and continue to teach me every day.

If you can find an extra moment please say a little prayer or send a happy thought out into the universe for this couple as they mourn their little boy.