Take Nothing for Granted

"Don't neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices." Hebrews 13:16

"Remember, for everything you have lost, you have gained something else. Without the dark, you would never see the stars." @quoteremedy

I have talked about not taking things for granted a lot in my blog. It is so true and when life doesn't go as planned, I need to remind myself of this. It is so easy to get caught up in the motions of life that we often don't take time to truly enjoy it. It seems especially true in the young parenting years. I would give anything to have some of those days back so I could have a "do-over." I wasn't the most patient mother. I worked a lot of hours and was tired a lot. But they got to spend a lot of time with my parents. Our kids got to go on so many wonderful vacations with us and with my parents. These are the memories that they so fondly remember and love to reminisce about. How many grandparents do you know that would pack up a motor home and taken 5 grandchildren from North Dakota to California and back again over the span of 3 weeks? I guess that is why God gives us grandkids. I feel it's like getting a do-over. Will Mark and I be taking our grandchildren on a 3 week vacation some day? Only time will tell. We already took Paislee for a week to Florida.

It has been a few weeks since I have written a post. Life has been busy. Mark celebrated his 51st time around the sun on February 15. We had a quiet meal at home that night and celebrated. I made Mark a few homemade mini blueberry pies. Paislee and Gunnar were able to help him blow out the candles. That weekend Mark and I stayed at the lake and did a couple days of ice fishing together. It wasn't an extremely productive fishing excursion, but fun none the less. Again, we have both learned to enjoy our time together and not take it for granted. We have had Paislee and Gunnar the past few weekends. They always keep us on our toes. Kalli and I took them to Jamestown to run some errands and we made a stop at McDonalds. I don't know who enjoyed it more, Paislee or Kalli.

On this recent trip to Jamestown, I was in Walmart with my grandkids. I looked around and saw a few mothers with their young kids and they all seemed frazzled. Their kids were trying to grab things off the shelves and the mothers were desperately trying to fulfill their shopping list. There was a bit of screaming, and a very frustrated look on the mother’s face. This made me reflect on how I was as a mother. I'm sure I was the same way. Get in and get out and I was probably frustrated and frazzled and all of that. And now here I am shopping with my three-month-old grandson and my 17-month-old granddaughter. I made sure to grab the big cart so my granddaughter could sit proudly, looking as we went down the aisles. She wanted everything. Did I scream at her for touching everything and asking for everything? No. Instead, I said, "Let's look up there and see what else they have." She intently would look around in awe. Did she get a few treats? Absolutely. Was I frazzled? Absolutely not. Instead, I enjoyed my little shopping excursion. I sat back and I watched my granddaughter as she inquisitively looked at everything on the shelves and was so excited to see everything and say hi to all the shoppers. She was especially excited when we went down the candy aisle. It made me realize that life is absolutely, positively too short. The memories of me taking my kids into a Walmart or a grocery store are nearly obsolete. Those moments for me are gone. And here I am almost getting to relive those moments with my grandchildren. My attitude is completely different as I've gotten older. I have learned to let the little kids embrace their curiosity. I have learned to sit back, watch, and take it all in. I have learned not to take anything for granted.

Speaking of that, March is Multiple Sclerosis awareness month. Justine is going on nearly 10 years with this disease. She did infusions a few years ago in hopes of fully putting her in remission. Her neurologist is not comfortable without her going on medication since the couple episodes she has had were severe. This is not the news she wanted to hear, but she wasn't surprised by it either. The infusions bought her a few years, so she was able to have children without worrying about needing to be on medication. She recently felt some numbness in her arm and then down her leg. She immediately called her neurologist, and she ordered Prednisone 1250 mg for three days. Yes, that is a hefty dose. If you have ever been on prednisone for something you likely know the side effects. Keep in mind, this dose of prednisone is roughly 30 times the average dose (or more). She has an MRI scheduled for March 14th and will know for sure if she has any new lesions. Justine is a trooper, but for the first time, she asked me, "Why me mom? Why me?"

Life is not always fair and don't I know it. However, life is a lot about perception. You can look at your challenges and feel sorry for yourself and wallow in self-pity. Or you can choose to rise and live your best life despite these challenges. No one is perfect and only you can live your life the way you want to. "You are the only one responsible for giving yourself the life you want." Now... READ THAT AGAIN. Have a great week everyone