little things to be grateful for

I’m writing this sitting in the Orthopedic Surgery Center waiting room. People are trying to be occupied, but you can sense that most of it is that false pretending kind of busy. The musak is playing songs from the seventies and eighties — right now it’s Send in the Clowns — creating this strange mood in a room that is already underline tense. I keep glancing up at the flat screen tv waiting for Hannah’s chart to flip to “in recovery.” As I sit here it gives me some time to ponder things, because well, you know, that’s just me and my heart. I’m determined to look around this room and be grateful.

For the coffee sitting next to me.
The free wi-fi at the orthopedic center.
Beds that recline when one’s daughter gets light-headed from an iv.
Gluten free options at the deli.
Moms that are available and waiting to talk on the phone.
Friends that facebook “praying” to me.
Silly musak that preoccupies my mind while I write.
Comfortable chairs.
Surgeons.
Surgeons who care for their patients.
Moments to laugh with my daughter prior to surgery.
Nurses that care. Deeply.
Beautiful windows to stare out of.

You see, in the everyday, we should do that. We could take a moment, take a break, a breath, and look around and begin to see the great and beautiful things in the everyday. Maybe it’s for the clean counters, or your coffee brewing in a pot, or the sweet four year old who wants to sit on your lap. Those are all moments that are gifts in our busy lives.

So as I sit here waiting to see my daughter, my daughter who I love dearly, who I shed a tear for as I left the room, I am grateful. I am blessed to be a mom, and am so blessed that I was the one who could be here, at the Orthopedic Surgery Center, for my daughter.

Life is a gift.

I know it sounds cliche, but life really is a gift. And more often than not it is not the huge events that make life great, but rather those little moments, the little things, that fill our lives with gratitude.

So do it. Grab a piece of paper, or a blogger screen, or a crayon and record the little things you are grateful for in life right now. You’ll be grateful you did.

*** update 11/17 ***

First, thank you for your prayers. I am very grateful. Hannah is doing as well as expected. It took her a bit to wake from the surgery so we were there until 5pm. She’s in quite a bit of pain right now as the nerve block has worn off. So I keep praying for her to sleep. Yesterday, the surgeon found that she had in fact broken off the piece of bone on the back of her ankle that she needed to have removed. He said that it was so good that we did the surgery so fast as he wasn’t sure how she was walking — having that bone loose causes a great deal of pain and can do damage.

I am so grateful for the quickness with which this all happened — such a gift from the Lord and an answer to prayers. We had no idea the bone was already broken since xrays and mris are still and wouldn’t have shown this to the surgeon.  God is good. In all things. Please pray for her today. Thank you.