something even better

obligatory birthday-pancake photo shoot
10.15.11

"I love this three pancake!"

Last night, after a full day of birthday fun and excitement, we put E and her brothers to bed. Then, being exhausted ourselves, Mr. Boss and I quickly tidied up from the birthday mess and retired to our own bed. It was perhaps 20 minutes later, as I was nearing a beautiful state of unconsciousness, that we heard her cry. When it didn't stop, Mr. Boss kindly nudged me to signify that I ought to get up and tend to our distraught daughter.

I returned the kindness by reminding him that I'd been up late the night before, and needed to be up early in the morning, and then asked if he could just take care of this one, please. He did. As I lay there on my pillow, trying to reclaim the wonderful state I'd been pulled from, I found that I couldn't. E was still crying, and it sounded like Mr. Boss didn't quite know what to do. I thought: "Oh, alright, I'll get up."

First, I went to the kitchen to grab a cup of water, hoping that would help, but when I got to the kid's room and offered it to her, E pushed it away and continued to cry. Mr. Boss voiced his suspicion that she wasn't even fully awake. Finally I grabbed her from his arms and set her on my lap and just held her. She calmed slightly, but not entirely. Then I moved her into a cradle hold and began stroking her face. Almost immediately her cries were gone, aside from the occasional whimper.

I started to worry when she started faintly heaving and sucking on her lower lip, I thought she would hurl on me, but as I watched her I noticed something else, a darkness on her upper lip. Blood. I took her to my bed as Mr. Boss got a wet tissue for me to wipe her up with. As I cleaned her she screamed, so I stopped and simply held her.

A moment later I asked if she wanted to go back to her bed, or stay in mine. She said she wanted to be with me, so we lay down, and I pulled her close. She reached her hand up and gently touched my face before resting it on my chest. She was calmly sound asleep in no time. I lay there unable to sleep now, too busy enjoying the perfect moment I was in, when a thought came, clearly and distinctly, into my mind.

"You may not be able to run the White House, or own a fortune 500 company or your own small business, you may not even have a college degree, but you can do something that no one else can."

Writing that reminds me of the phrase/quote "To the world you may be one person, but to one person you are the world."

I may not have a large or noticeable affect on the world, I may live and die being almost entirely unknown, and I'm okay with that, because being well known doesn't mean a life well lived. The most joy I have ever experienced, the most fulfillment I have ever felt, has been in this home with my family, with my children.

I know that, to the world, children and families are considered to be largely unimportant, they're looked on as something that will hold you back from "living your dreams," or "having an exciting life," but I know these are lies.

I know that "marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children."*** I know that there is nothing greater in this life than family. There is nothing more exciting, fulfilling, or exhilarating than being joined to your spouse and embarking on the adventure of parenthood.

I will admit, it isn't always easy, but it is always worth it.