Perspective

Today I was dragging Little Big and Little Bro through a long hallway in a children's wing of a large hospital.  They had been woken from naps early and were tired, cold, and grumpy.  Even grumpier was me, their seriously sleep-deprived mama (my own fault for deciding on a whim this week to paint our kitchen after bedtime), who was pissed off that we had to add yet another weekly therapy session that required me to shlup both my grumpy kids around at a really inopportune time of day.  Classy and big girl, I know.

Bottom line, it was a three car frowny train barreling down that hallway about 7 minutes late.

A man and woman stood about 3/4 of the way down the hallway fussing in agitation over a large jogging stroller that was facing away from us.  They seemed stress and unhappy and resigned, just like me.  My thought as I approached them was literally "Man, I know how you feel.  My kids are being pains, too!"

Then I reached the point where I could see their child in the stroller.

A child probably 3-5 years old with a trachea tube whose fragile looking body was having what looked like a seizure as her parents tried to keep her safe and comfortable in the moment.


Dear Me:
Shut the hell up.  You have two healthy children who have every chance in the world to live out all the dreams you had hoped for them. Children whose needs are predictable and isolated and generally not impeding daily life. Get over yourself, hug your babies, be grateful, and send a prayer for quick peace for that family who just reminded you what real strength and challenge looks like.