Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Nine years ago today, I gave birth to the little girl I had waited my whole life to have.  She's fiery and wild and sweet and shy.  We share this crazy sisterly bond. We look the same - she has my hands and my feet and my body.  She is wildly imaginative, insanely athletic and has the most incredible grace about her.

In all her years on earth, I have only been sad on two of her birthdays. Her fourth, when I was so sure that she was going to be an only child and that my baby was now on the brink of becoming a kindergartener.  And this year. NINE. Nine years has gone too fast. She has been my light and my rock, my best friend and my biggest challenge and in NINE more years, she will be graduating.  This is the halfway mark of raising her.  I am halfway done. And for some reason it makes me sad because I am not ready for her to grow up and move on. (and yes I know nine years is a long time!!)

So my darling Meira, this post is dedicated to you,

my magical, beautiful first born daughter.

Happy 9th Birthday!

I can't wait to spend our day together!

One Pint ~ Three Lives ~ One Hour of My Time

A creative way to practice the three R's!

Did you know that donating a pint of blood can save up to 3 lives? Yes, one hour of your time can give THREE other fellow humans a lifetime of hours that they otherwise might not have.  The whole thing takes about an hour and the actual donation takes only about 15 minutes.  I did it 4 years ago for my father-in-law when he had surgery for cancer.  I swore that I would continue to donate and I never did again.  I had all good intentions about finding a drive and with the usual busyness of life, I always forgot.

Two weeks ago a letter came home in my daughter's school folder.  Her school was hosting a blood drive in honor of a fellow classmate who died of a rare blood disorder called ITP.  A sweet little girl, who had an unknown platelet disorder that the doctors caught too late.  It's a heartbreaking story that crosses my mind time to time when I look at my own very healthy, very alive little girls.  The Red Cross calls it a "Pint Size Hero" drive. The kids are supposed to get at least one adult to sign up in their stead to donate blood.  They in turn become Pint Size Heros and get some cool prize.  Perfect opportunity! I went online and signed up. 

The Red Cross website lists all the drives in the area in one place, so it's easy to find a blood drive to fit your schedule. 

So last night my daughter got to be a Pint Size Hero. And I got to be one, too.  Last night I gave a mother back her child, a parent back, a husband, wife, sister, brother, friend back to their loved ones. Last night I got to be a miracle maker and it cost me nothing.

An hour of my time, a pound off my scale, and I received a lesson in gratitude. Because last night while my blood filled the donation bag, I sat there with my daughter and thanked the universe a thousand times over that my family and I were on the giving end of the blood donation.  I was grateful for the chance to express my thanks in such a simple and profound way.  And you can bet that I will no longer let excuses get in the way of my being able to give this gift as often as I can.

Wednesday Words of Wisdom 1.27.10

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It turns denial into acceptance,
chaos into order, confusion into clarity.

It turns problems into gifts, failures into success,

the unexpected into perfect timing,
and mistakes into important events.

Gratitude makes sense of our past,
brings peace for today
and creates a vision for tomorrow."

                                                                               ~Melodie Beattie