Little Things Mean a Lot

So 13 years ago today, a very tiny person came into my life. So tiny in fact, that she weighed less than a pound. She weighed 450 grams, she was 15 weeks early and she needed to fight for her life for the next 5 months. She was given a 0% chance of surviving. ZERO.  Boy, were they were wrong!

So that person is my daughter, the oldest of my four children. As you can imagine, those 5 months were incredibly challenging, scary, sad (we lost her twin brother after only 3 weeks), and overwhelming. I wasn’t able to hold her until a month after she was born, and she was so tiny and fragile, it was terrifying! I would cup her back with one hand, and her bottom with the other hand, and press her against my chest. When I held her like this, you could barely see her head above my hands. To say she was little, is an understatement! 

But she was everything!  The next five months, she would teach us many things! She endured so much more than anyone could ever imagine: four surgeries, daily IV’s and heel pricks, numerous blood transfusions, infections, set-backs, etc. Today, she is covered in scars, though the doctors promised us they would go away with age (she doesn’t mind that they didn’t). She was TOUGH as nails through it all; this tiny little person…HOW did she do it?

I’ll never know HOW she did it. The doctors don’t understand how she did it! We were told she was the smallest baby born in Chicago to survive at that time (the year 2000)! She is a miracle to be sure!

She has taught me that anything is possible in this life. If you want something bad enough, you can fight for it, you MUST fight for it! She has taught me to take nothing for granted. You never know what is going to happen tomorrow, but you have today. Take advantage of every little opportunity, appreciate every little thing that you have, and live every moment to its fullest!

Celebrate the small things! Look for victories, and opportunities! Don’t let this life pass you by without giving it all you have! Start each day with a determination to make it the best possible day you can. Love the people around you who lift you up every day and support you in all that you do. Return the favor; hold someone’s hand when they need it. Enjoy life, because every second is a gift. Be present and see the magic that exists in everything. Every little thing! Those little things turn into BIG things in the blink of an eye!

Today, my daughter is 13 years old (my FIRST teenager!) and she is 88 times bigger than she was the day she was born! Now, her foot is bigger than her whole body was at birth. She has scars and glasses and she is perfect. She is the biggest, little thing that ever happened to me! And she is a living reminder that there is JOY, love, hope, and promise in the little things. Seek them out, celebrate them, and embrace them every day!

Happy Valentines Day!