Unintentional Multi-tasking

We all do it. You know what I'm talking about. Your daughter (or son) says, "Mom, can I have some apple juice?" So you go into the kitchen (after coercing a 'please' out of them, of course) to get the juice. On the way, there's a piece of trash on the floor. Probably left by one of the kids...or your husband. Bending over to pick it up and toss it in the trash, you mutter to yourself, "Why can't they just throw things away?" What was I doing? Oh yeah...apple juice. Cup from the cupboard. Check. Apple juice from the fridge. Check. Oh wait. Those leftovers are growing fur. Let's toss those out. Might as well rinse out the dish and put it in the dishwa... wait, I can't. It's full of clean dishes. Ok, time to empty the dishwasher. Done. And now I can fill it back up with dirty dishes. Crap...I spilled water on the floor. Should I mop? Nah, I'd have to sweep, too. I'll do that tomorrow. BUZZ. The clothes are dry. So I get them out of the dryer to fold. Now let's put another load in the wash...

"MOM! Where's my apple juice?!"

"Coming!" I say.

I sure got a lot done this evening. :)

A long awaited "first"

Olivia got her first tooth yesterday! I was thrilled...not just for the tooth, but for what it represents to me.

As soon as a child is born, moms and dads have expectations. Most of these expectations come in the form of "firsts"... the first word, first steps, etc. And when Olivia was born, I mourned a lot of firsts. Wrongly so, I realize, for my daughter will still experience them, even if they come at a delayed rate. And yesterday, as I felt her jagged little "first", I was reminded of this. And I smiled. And she smiled, too.

Dear Blog...

Oh how I have neglected you. But I've been so busy! Yes, here come the excuses...
Isn't it funny how, as mothers, we try to do EVERYTHING? A mother's guilt carries a lot of weight. And, so, I run around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to do this and that... my girls are in music and gymnastics; therapy for Liv; birthday parties and playdates. Oh yeah, and did I mention working full-time and trying to run a household? And writing a BLOG? And keeping a journal? :)
The truth is, we really don't have to do it all. And we shouldn't feel guilty when we have to say "no". Choose what's most important. Right? Right?! See...more guilt.
And on that note, I refuse to write in my journal tonight! "No!", I say. Pencils down.

Well, we are home. With surgery classified as a "complete success", we arrived home after only 5 days in the hospital. Praise God and thanks to all those friends and family saying extra prayers for us.

Our Olivia has amazed us with her recovery and attitude. She is--in short--amazing.

Surgery

Olivia's open heart surgery is tomorrow, and I really have only one emotion. Fear.

We check into the hospital at 6am and probably won't see Liv again until noon. I'm told her post-op appearance will scare me. Ok...more fear. But we will get through it. Family and friends help the fear subside.

We'll keep you updated throughout the day...

Pre-op

Tomorrow is pre-op at Mercy. I'm so nervous. It's silly; I certainly can't control anything at this point. The issue we're concerned about (besides OPEN HEART SURGERY) is that she seems to have come down with a cold as of Friday. Geesh. The child has never been sick, and when we absolutely need her to be well, she gets sick. Maybe it's her way of telling us she's not ready for the surgery. Or maybe it's God's way of telling us we're not ready as a family. Either way, we'll just wait and see what the doctors say tomorrow. After all, that's really all we can do isn't it? Wait and see...

Changes

It's scary, the things you think and feel when you realize you have a child with a disability. I knew the minute I looked at Olivia that she had Down syndrome. I was scared and selfish. And I hoped beyond hope that I was wrong.
It didn't take long to realize that she was meant for us and we were meant for her. She has made me the person I am today. Seems strange that in just a few months of life, she has given me years of wisdom. I thought I was supposed to teach her? Hmmmm...
I would never wish the unexpected and seemingly bad upon anyone. But I will always wish for people to share the same view on life that I now posses. I feel so lucky to have been given this gift called perspective. Where before I saw trees, I now see trees with vibrant greens, birds flying overhead, blooms that breathe new life. Details. Importance. Love. Hope. Beauty. My family. Olivia.