The Great Adventure

Kelly Corrigan is one of my favorite authors of all time.  This morning I discovered an amazing YouTube video of her speaking about The Great Adventure of parenting.  According to Kelly, "Things happen when you leave the house".  Kelly's 5-minute video was like hitting the reset button for me and I thought about it all day long.  If you want to experience it for yourself, you can find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYmQs8bs1cY

Today, Angie and I left the house and "things happened".  We have been house-bound since Snowmageddon hit last Thursday and today was our first shot at freedom.  Angie had her weekly speech therapy appointment and once we (literally) slid down our driveway, we were home free.  At therapy today, I encountered another family who stole my heart.  I don't know if watching Kelly's video set me up for this, or if God just places these families on my path to give me a reality check.

The family came into the therapy waiting room and they caught my attention immediately.  Unfortunately, they did not speak English because there was something I wanted to tell them-I know.  The mother was clearly exhausted and overwhelmed.  I know.   I suspect that she knew that the news she would hear, even if she already knew it herself, was going to be heart-wrenching and life-changing.  I know.  The daughter, who was about Angie's age, was non-verbal and was unable to tell her mom what was wrong.  I know.  The child cried and complained the entire time they waited and Mom looked like she wanted to disappear under her chair.  I know.  The mom seemed embarrassed that others might think she was cruel or inept because she could not determine her child's need or how to meet it.  I know.  I cannot describe my helplessness as I sat across from them and could only express my empathy with a smile.  Eventually, the child's name was called and they left the waiting room.  My thoughts stayed with them, and I hope they felt them even though the language barrier prohibited me from speaking my heartfelt thoughts with them.  I wish I could share about The Great Adventure.  But not today.

Today, Angie had an amazing day at speech therapy.  I watched as she matched and named colors, named letters, and even matched a couple of sight words with pictures.  She was a rock star!  It was a  welcome difference from our therapy experience last week when she fell during therapy.  She lost consciousness, had a seizure, and spent the following four hours in the emergency department.  Toby rushed to the hospital to be with us and we went home with instructions to wake her every 2 hours to check her level of alertness.  Thank God her speech therapy is in a hospital-HER hospital:)

After speech therapy today, we went shopping at New Season's Market.  When we sat down to eat our lunch in the dining section I noticed a couple who were obviously brand new parents.  The father had a newborn baby strapped to his chest and after they sat down with their lunch I noticed them taking numerous "selfies", which I expect are now all over Facebook.  They looked tired, but thrilled to be out and about with their little miracle.  Such a different parenting experience from that of the family in the waiting room.  Or, from my current experience.  Or from yours.  Again, the magic of the Great Adventure is that our experience is OURS.  Today IS the Great Adventure and we waste it if we wish for the experiences of yesterday, or the experiences of other parents. 

I encourage you to check out Kelly Corrigan's video.  Whether you do or not, I suggest to you that life CAN BE the Great Adventure if you want it to be.  Live today as it is your last day with your family. Love your friends as if each one was your only.  You won't regret it, I promise.