growing deeper roots

My husband was laid off of work again recently. There's alot of emotion in me right now, about life and this situation in general. I'm thankful that my husband is the man he is, we're facing this with an open mind and keeping a positive outlook. We have alot to discuss, we have alot to consider, we have alot to re-think... thankfully we communicate with each other, otherwise I'd go insane. He's a very talented artist and right now, we're fine. We had some savings tucked away (for once in our life) and everything is ok for now financially. We are in a weird spot right now as a family, but it's not the end of the world, each day I'm reminded that other people have bigger burdens or struggles:

• Like a blogger who I've followed for a while who lost her son...


• A friend of mine from highschool and I were reconnected by using Facebook, and she was recently diagnosed with a form of bone cancer (sarcoma) and is sitting in a hospital right now as I type this while cancer chemicals are being pumped into her body to help her fight. She's a fighter, and so far - her will can't be broken. She has young children and she will do whatever it takes to fight this.


• Another friend of mine, lost her dad yesterday to a 11 year fight with cancer. 11 years ago he was given 18 months to live - he really showed that cancer something, huh? He died peacefully yesterday, but a peaceful death is still a death that is greatly grieved by those who loved the person who passes on...


• ANOTHER friend who's wife has battled brain cancer for 2 years, and she still fights...she's at Duke Hospital almost weekly.


• One of my best and dearest friends just had a total hysterectomy, she's younger then me. Her life has taken some major turns in the past couple of weeks, including a very scary 2nd visit to the hospital with pneumonia.


• My aunt, lost her brother AND his wife in a tragic auto accident less then 2 weeks ago. She's one of 15 siblings, and it seems like she had just buried a sister and then her brother AND his wife passed away.


• My best friend in the world wakes up each day knowing her husband has been diagnosed as a carrier of Huntingtons Disease, watching life through eyes that are aware that each day is a gift. Each day that he spends with his child is a blessing, each day that he's still "him" - she's grateful. No signs of disease yet, but if you're a carrier it's inevitable.


• My family out of state is getting pointed in every direction about the pending adoption of their daughter, the ins and outs of getting the medical assistance this precious child needs are heart wrenching and their family literally sits and waits for people they barely know to decide what's best for their child's medical future, what subsidiaries they receive to help her move forward with her challenges, challenges that this child didn't ask for. Challenges that are existing because of a lost soul, her biological mother used heavy drugs while pregnant with her... she is truly a miracle to be here and alive and be where she is today - so I fail to understand why there's even a question in what should and CAN be done for her with the simple flick or a wrist and signing a paper that says "you get THIS amount of assistance to raise this child in a loving home, without abuse, without drugs, without all of the bad things she could have been exposed too, you get THIS amount of open arms to welcome this bright, beautiful little girl into a healthy world"... I mean really, why think twice?

So... when I think of all of what my friends and family are enduring - I think it's petty of me to even consider feeling sorry for myself. We have alot of goodness in our lives, alot of precious moments to be thankful for.... we went to the lake recently and spent time w/ the kids tossing rocks and acorns into the water. I found my favorite perch and took a few photos - the photo below is exactly where I sit every time we go. For whatever reason, this lonely awkward shrub always fascinates me. It's always so peaceful there, even with the kiddo's running around and yelling - the water, the scenery, it all brings a certain amount of peaceful clarity to my head. It's a big world, and we're just a small family of 4 people in it. There's so much to be thankful for!!

Storms make trees take deeper root. ~Claud McDonald