Fortunate

Let me start off by recognizing just how awesome my hubby is and how great his entries have been to date. I am lucky to have such wonderful and adoring husband and just love that he has taken to publicly declaring his love for his family on this blog. Thank you, Joshua.

The last few weeks I have come to appreciate all that I have in my life. As people offer their advice as Josh and I embark on this crazy adventure called parenthood, one piece has stood out for me more than the rest. Don’t blink, because it all goes by so fast. Boy howdy…I can’t even believe this kid has gained 2+ pounds in only 3 weeks. So I want to express the fact that I am not taking any of this for granted.

I don’t take for granted that I have a beautiful, healthy, thriving baby boy. Many, and some that I know personally, do not have this blessing and I have never stopped being thankful for his health.

I don’t take for granted that I have an adoring, compassionate, aware, loving, thoughtful, generous, doting, empathetic husband who is doing everything in his power to take care of and provide for his family. I don’t know how single moms do it, because I have the best teammate a girl could ask for. If he could do more, he would. I had a friend mention to me that her husband “doesn’t really like infants” but now that their daughter is 3 he’s really starting to spend more time with her…WHAT?! I should really thank her because it wasn’t until she made this little throw away comment that I realized just how fortunate I am to have a husband that wants to be involved in every little minute detail of JP’s life to date. He’s amazing with JP. He’s a natural. And he is enjoying this whole process right along side me. And what’s more, he’s there for me when my emotions/hormones get the best of me and I get overwhelmed. He’s my rock.

I don’t take for granted that I have health insurance. And fantastic health insurance at that. Having JP in a state of the art hospital with all the best-trained doctors and nurses, even the machine that goes “PING!!” didn’t put us into debt and won’t ruin us financially. We have the means to take him to regular Doctor’s appointments and keep him as healthy as we are able.

I don’t take for granted the intricate and vast network of family and friends that care about Josh, JP and me. We are not in this alone. I’m grateful for the village that is helping to raise our son.

And finally, I don’t take for granted every single moment that I get to spend with this little guy. Life is so very fragile. That’s something that I have learned first hand at work. Things can change in an instant and we often have very little say in the matter. Every burp, every cry, every gas-induced grin, every painful breastfeeding latch, every open-eyed zombie-like nap this kid takes is a blessing in which I am so eternally grateful to partake. I don’t take this time for granted. I know it will pass in the blink of an eye and be replaced with something equally amazing and awe-inspiring.

Boy, am I fortunate.