Thanksgiving is...

I created this blog for two reasons.  The first was to be able to tell about Lil's disease in detail and what it is like to be her mom without the pressures of facebook.  The other was to spread the word about her symptoms in the hopes of helping people who may be experiencing something similar or possibly even help Lil.  Unfortunately for all of you, the side effect of that is you hear an awful lot of negative things about our lives.  You do not often hear about how grateful I am for all that we have. 

I know how very lucky we are that LillyAnna can run and play, that she is smart and can think on her own.  The physical therapists we worked with at AI were absolutely astonished she began walking during her time there with the excruciating pain she experienced in her legs but she did and she can still walk.  She can eat, drink, walk, and breath.  My favorite is that she can play.  She loves to play.  She pays for it the next day or like today she paid for it tonight either by vomiting or having a lot of pain.  But this girl can play.  And we would never live this life without our support system.  We would not be here without our doctors and nurses and hospital staff.  We have a house, we have heat, we have money to buy food.  We have all of you. 

Then there are the little things.  The smell of sautéing garlic, my kids hair when they wake up in the morning and roses.  The feeling of jumping into a pool on a hot day, sand in your toes, the memory of my grandmother.  Reading.  Cucumbers.  Cuddles.  Laughing with your best friend. 

I know how lucky we are, how lucky Lil is.  Sometimes I need reminding of how good we have it and sometimes I need reminding of how hard we work.  Depends on the day.  Today I enjoyed the day, enjoyed the cuddles and my family... oh and turkey too:)