Friday, May 6, 2011

Sometimes You Wonder How You Got To Where You Are

...like when you have to avert your eyes from the field for extended periods of time because you can't stand to see your son pick his butt for the 100th time in a game...or your daughter keeps touching your face and squirming on you until you screech out that if she does that one more time you're gonna...you're gonna...you're gonna look up and see all the other parents eyes on you just waiting for that answer...or your son tells the coach and all the players a completely inappropriate (yet pretty funny) joke that contains the word penis in front of the other parents and your face turns bright red and you just know that they are questioning your parenting skills...

...and even though you sigh a huge sigh and feel a bit a lot like you could be doing a better job...you look at your calendar and remember that today it's your turn to take dinner up to the hospital for Alex's family...and you realize you are doing pretty ok, and you are so incredibly lucky your son is ON the baseball field and not in a bed at Doernbecher fighting for his life...that your daughter is constantly under your left foot and not struggling with fears of facing death.

Our honored teammate, Alex, was diagnosed at age 3 with lymphoma. He took his last dose of chemo in November of 2010 and recently celebrated being cancer free. In fact, last week on April 26th, his mom, Sara, posted on her blog that it felt like it had all been a dream. She spoke of how normal life had become and about what Alex has been up to. Then three days later, on April 29th, Alex found out he now has leukemia and this 6 year old little boy is again fighting for his life.

I know sometimes we doubt ourselves as parents and sometimes we even wonder what in the heck made us decide to take on this most very hard career, but today I know that I am thankful for my healthy babies and even if I might screech at them a little too often, they get even more hugs and love than screeches and I'm so very thankful they are under my feet and picking their butts and telling inappropriate jokes and that they ARE. RIGHT. HERE. WITH. ME!

Hug your babies today...big and small. Remember how blessed we are.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh man tear jerker. Kids should not be sick-never ever it is NOT fair. Sending thoughts to a strong little person for a speedy recovery.

Big Daddy Diesel said...

This was a great post

Unknown said...

Thanks for this post Julie. My kids will be smothered in hugs today.

Nikki Kendall said...

A perfect example of why we TEAM!

CautiouslyAudacious said...

Awesome post! We should def. be thankful for everything good in our lives!

KovasP said...

Even big kids can use hugs - thanks for this Julie.

Quinton J said...

LOL...love this post. What we know for certain...is that they get all that stuff from their parents.

Pam @ herbieontherun.com said...

God bless that child.

misszippy said...

Wow--that's just too cruel for Alex and his family. Wishing them all the best, and you're right, those of us with healthy kids are SO lucky!

Aimee said...

Thank you for this post. It is awesome! I wish Alex all the best!!

Kate Geisen said...

Amen, Julie. Praying for Alex and appreciating my little (and big) pains in the butt even more today.

Julie said...

Great post...I am one lucky mom...I've made many mistakes and I just hope that I've also told my kids often enough how much they are loved.

Pahla said...

Very well said. This one brought tears to my eyes.

Stephanie said...

Oh I laughed and then teared up. Gotta love those boys. :)

You're so right...children are not meant to be taken for granted. Nor is their health and safety. It's so tough hearing about others' struggles when they involve little people that don't deserve to go through that pain.

I'll go hug my kiddos right now. :)

Stephanie F said...

this is a good one. i don't even have words!

Amanda@runninghood said...

Ah jUlie, I needed to read this one today! You made me laugh at the beginning. I could so relate!!! Great post...thank you. And yes, crotch is the best word! :) Well, one of them.

Dawn said...

:) thanks!

ajh said...

I am so sorry to hear that about Alex. We dont always realize how lucky we are.

Chris K said...

So incredibly sad. It breaks my heart. I am so grateful for my daughter's good health. I am lucky.

Running Ricig said...

that poor little boy and family.

This is a great post

Meredith said...

Love this Julie! Definitely need to be holding our babes tight and loving and enjoying them... even in all their tantrums, sassiness and chaos. Isn't that why we run? To get a deep breath so we can come back sane? So great to be reminded of that! Thank you!

Jim ... 50after40 said...

Awesome post Julie.

Unknown said...

Wow.

Thank you. It really puts into perspective my daily "struggles".