Perspective

After a weekend where I repeatedly stopped to remember so very many things that we have to be thankful for, at the end of a few months where I truly didn't think we did, we ended it by playing outside. Finn was running around with our next door neighbor, his 'best friend' du jour, and they turned on the water. It was cold, Finn got wet, and he wasn't happy. He ran inside to change, and being an almost 4 year old he demanded he could do it on his own, and so we let him.

A few minutes later he came running out, with a sweater on, his underwear, his boots, and nothing else.

He spent the next 20 minutes running around in his underwear, unembarrassed, unaware, simply enjoying life.

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Lila had an appointment with a hematologist today. A hematologist, we learned, works in the cancer center, at the Children's Hospital.

As we waited to be called back I was keenly aware of the children around me. A young girl, with long beautiful hair and a sassy attitude, who was being told it was going to be a long day. Her mom looked tired, empty. A teenage boy, waiting with his mom, bored and irritable. He had no hair.

We went back, and waited in a room for over an hour. We spent 5 minutes with the doctor, who felt strongly there was nothing wrong, and took blood just to be safe. After a long wait I walked out, and the families in the waiting room had grown. Kids, parents, babies, all waiting to meet with a doctor that no parent ever hopes to have to meet with.

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So many people have written over the past week about the things they are thankful for. I thought about it, and started to do the same thing.

Thankful for my kids. Thankful for Lee. Thankful for our families. Thankful for Lee's job, and Finn's school, and our house.

Thankful for life.

But really what I decided to write about is that these two events, these two things that shouldn't have impacted me so much, they impacted me tremendously.

How lucky am I that I have such a spirited son? A child who loves nothing more than to don his rain boots, and little else, and just live his life with no hesitation, no fear. At the time I was telling him to go back inside and put on pants and he laughed. Later on I told Lee I started to feel sad, because there will be a day, sooner than later, where he won't do something like this. Where being cool in front of his friends is what matters. Where snuddles with his mommy are not top, or even bottom, on his priority list.

How lucky am I that (hopefully) we won't have to return to the Cancer center? That my children, save a few things, are okay. They are healthy. They are thriving. They are wonderful. And, if there is a problem, how lucky are we that we can get help? That we can afford it. That it will be good doctors, some of the best.

A few months ago my thankful list may have looked a little more materialistic, a little more shallow. A little perspective goes a long way.