7 years ago today...

...my life would change in ways I never expected would happen to me, ever. In ways that only happen to "other people" of course, those poor "other people" that I don't know how they even get up in the morning. Only I didn't know it was going to change that drastically for 3 more days. Fate gave me a 3 day reprieve before it sent my world spinning onto a completely different course.

7 years ago today my second child, R, was born. He came fast and furiously into the world. He wouldn't wait for the hospital nurses and their annoying iv's and constant badgering about epidurals that I didn't want. He barely even waited for my doctor to arrive. He had beautiful skin and the chubbiest cheeks, red hair and long fingers. He looked and seemed absolutely perfect.

Only, he wasn't perfect. 3 days from then we would find out he had a very severe heart defect, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. For all intents and purposes he had half a heart. The half that pumps blood to the body was too small to be of any use. Since then he's gone through 3 open heart surgeries, 2 abdominal surgeries, several cardiac catheterizations, feeding tubes, eating struggles, and whole bunch of other random things thrown in there. All of that with a resilience and grace that many adults do not possess. Not that its always been smooth sailing, quite the opposite in fact. Because in addition to that resilience and grace he possesses a stubborness and determination in his one little body that could rival an entire stadium full of people.

He's not so fast anymore, he's definitely still furious, and he still captures the heart of almost everyone he meets. Something about his smile and the shy way about him (when he's actually behaving like a child instead of a demon) just pulls people in. He is really an unforgetable child, in so many ways.

I'm not sure what kind of person or what kind of mother I'd be had he been born "normal". But at least now I know how those "other people", how "my people", get up in the morning.

Happy 7th Birthday R!!!