It’s been one week since Baby Mo’s homecoming and it’s also New Year’s Eve; I think it’s a great excuse for some reflection ? So, if cheese isn’t your thing and Oscar speeches are so 2017, read no further! ✋You’ve been warned ?
Ouf! What a year!
An unplanned pregnancy, 42 days at the NICU and one little miracle later, our lives will never be the same again. While we were at the NICU I asked Janis Sarraf Taber to help me make a little poster, where doctors and nurses could write a little message for Mohsen. I told Hassan we’d pack it away and show Mo when he’s old enough to understand how special he is. Instead it’s been sitting on his changing table, too special for storage. A reminder of life’s surprises and unexpected courses. A reminder of all the love and support and kindness that has overwhelmed our little family in the last months. A continuous reminder that the little foss who keeps me up all night is a true miracle (yes, trust me, you need the reminder at 5am poop duty ??).
I imagined I would never want to remember those NICU days, but instead, it seems, I can’t let go. In retrospect, what could have been the darkest days of our life were instead bursting with light and love. Friends, family, the support of the Cookie Dough community (yes, YOU!), the nurses and doctors at AUBMC made what could have been the darkest period of our life, instead a beautiful and heartwarming memory of our baby’s first days. New years bring with them lots of planning and high hopes. Resolutions, projections, you know the drill. This year I’ll have just one: Gratitude. I will strive to practice gratitude every day. 2018 will be the year of thanks. To accept life’s challenges with gratitude, because though you may not be able to see to the bottom of a stirred pond just yet, it will clear up and someway, somehow it will make more sense. To accept to let go of those around you who will drain you and be grateful for those around you who can help you, and be grateful for knowing the difference. To be grateful for each day and all that comes with it.
2018: My Year of Thanks. What will it be for you?