Appreciating Life

So, it's been a while since my last post...life has kept me busy, which is always a good thing! This past weekend we had a wedding and a birthday to attend and had ourselves a great deal of fun playing games (okay, did that just at the birthday party) and of course gorging on cake! Nate ran around telling the girls how much he loved them and Jules, just tried to get anything and everything dirty all over her new white dress. We really did have a lot of fun though.

On Tuesday, we visited our dear friend Stephanie who has suffered from a severe debilitating illness since birth. Our friend Alice has been a caretaker of Stephanie's for many years and she introduced us to her when we moved into town a few years ago. Stephanie is my age and was told that she would not live past 18 years old. She is now 34 years old. Meeting Stephanie was a life changing event for me. I first went to see her because my friend Alice asked me to, telling me how much it would mean to Stephanie. But over the course of the years, it has turned around. I no longer go and see her with a sense of pity, or with the attitude that it is me who is giving of time and goodwill. No, it is in fact Stephanie who does this for me. She lets me into her life, and she provides for me and unbelievable amount of strength, and pure, simple love. With every visit we have, I feel overjoyed at the pure innocence and love of life (in whatever capacity she possesses) just emanating from her. Although she cannot speak, her smile is big enough to speak a thousand words. She literally makes me appreciate life in the greatest way I have ever known. And I feel so lucky to be able to share her with my children. I truly wish everyone out there could visit with this rare and incredible human being.

Stephanie, thank you.