Ten!

Today my littlest guy turns 10!

What a huge milestone, and one we don’t take lightly.

September 11th is a date marked by great loss and tragedy in our country.

September 11th is a date that marks great loss and tragedy in the lives of many individual families for a variety of reasons. As does yesterday, and tomorrow, and next Wednesday, and so on.

The day that Tyler was born I will never forget the nurse coming in to turn down the monitor on my belly that was capturing his heartbeat. There had been a loss in the room next door and they could hear my child’s heartbeat while theirs was absent.

Many years later I met and connected with a wonderful friend who I found out lost her precious daughter on that same day, that same year, in that same hospital. She was not the woman in the room next to me, but another family whose life had changed forever.

My sweet boy has some challenges, including a rare genetic defect that he also shares with one of his brothers … making our family extra, extra unique to have two in one family (it’s called Kartegener’s Syndrome, and includes situs inversus, or “backwards” organs). I remember when it was confirmed feeling this overwhelming sense of … relief? Gratitude? Like we dodged what could have been a much bigger bullet? It was a reminder that anything could happen and nothing was promised.

Our lives are a gift. Each day is a gift. No one knows what life has in store for us and you never quite know what someone else is dealing with. Be kind to each other, more so than necessary.

As is our family birthday tradition, we will be springing our sweet boy out of school midday and spending the afternoon as he wishes, which will probably include a trip to Target and more than likely some new Pokemon cards.

Rejoice in this day that you have been given. Smile at a stranger. Leave an extra large tip for no good reason. Leave a big, beautiful, generous mark on the world while you can. ❤️

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