We went to the park today.  No big deal, right?  Just a regular day as a parent of a 5 year-old.  It was more though.  This morning a friend posted a Facebook invitation to meet at the park for an impromptu play date.  Knowing that this friend has a daughter in Angie's class, a daughter who is basically Angie's self-appointed guardian angel, I decided to bundle Angie up and go. 

It was a beautiful Fall day and I visited with the other mothers as we watched our kids play. Kids squabbled, asked for help, came to get sand out of their eyes, climbed, went down the slide, and were just kids.  Angie included.  Again, a regular day, but for me it was so much more. Every "normal" experience Angie is able to have is a gift to me.  As one of my favorite bloggers wrote, "This perspective, this point of view, is a gift that mothers like me live with. We mother each day with our eyes wide open, not just marking the fatigue and the fevers and the falls that happen without warning, not just for these things, no. Our wide, open eyes also savor the sweetness in a smile and the simple joy that comes with laughter, that simple actions and movement can take great effort,and therefore are a gift.  This patience, this perspective, even my point of view didn’t come naturally. It has grown with time, with each new diagnosis, with setbacks and with each new achievement. This place I am in- can’t even be taught, or even learned through observation, as I once believed."  I am so thankful for the awe that Angie has put into my world.

Today, I am grateful for my eyes wide open to the miracles and wonders that every single day brings.  I pray that I will never lose my awe for what matters most.