Nieces are a Joy

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately with my nine year-old niece Christen, who is a real joy. She has my father's confident, larger than life personality, with a whole lot of diva mixed in. She's like a mini Raven Symone, in that one minute she's primping her hair, and the next minute she’s saying things like her sugar meter is low and she needs some candy. The best part about her is that she is completely confident in who she is. She knows she's a little over the top, but she doesn't apologize for it. She is completely comfortable in her own skin. If only I had had her confidence at nine years old, who knows how different life could have been for me.

What I also love about Christen is her desire to learn. She actually looks forward to going to school each day and gets very excited when the National Geographic Kids magazine comes in the mail. One morning I woke up and went downstairs to get some breakfast, and she was sitting at the dining table across from my mother, reading the newspaper, just like my mother. Generally when my sister drops Christen off for my mother to walk her to school, Christen watches TV in the family room. On this particular day however, she was sitting at the table, reading the newspaper, like an adult. Who would have ever thought that that the silly little two-year old who bounced around wearing her cousin's football helmet would have grown up to be a an academic AND a little diva?

Another treasured Christen moment is when I took her to a local arts festival last Fall. She took part in every art activity that we passed including painting a pumpkin and helping to paint a mural outside an elementary school. After the festival, while waiting at the subway for her mother to pick us up, Christen asked me if she could use my mirror to see how her hair looked. I busted out in laughter and asked her why, because it was dark outside and there were no boys her age around. She simply replied that she wanted to make sure she looked okay. I realized that it had nothing to do with impressing anyone. She just wanted to make sure she looked good for herself. Go figure.

Like all my nieces and nephews (I have over 10), Christen’s humor, honesty and zest for life have been a blessing and I just look forward to even more days that I spend with her. Because in today’s society of deadly tsunamis and tornados, terrorists and nuclear spills, I need all the silly, quirky, fun moments I can get so that I don’t go coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs.

Life After Surgery

Getting ready for church Sunday I tried on three different pairs of pants because surprisingly, pants I couldn’t get into comfortably four weeks ago are now slouching on me. I wanna give myself a high five I’m so happy! It really feels good to see that hard work does pay off! I’ve been eating better and doing a lot of exercising and I'm happy to say that I don’t just look better, I feel better, and stronger!

The best thing about my recuperation has been being able to exercise regularly without pain, and without having to take a three hour nap after 30 measly minutes of exercise. That was life before the surgery. I’m still unable to pick up my two year-old nephew without having pain that requires taking two Advil. He’s only two years old, but about 40 pounds, and guess lifting heavy things is the only regular thing I’m not able to do yet. But, it’s only been two months since the surgery and the doctors said it may take up to six months for the fibroids to completely shrink. So that means not lifting anything heavy for now, including my adorable nephew, for another four more months.

Before what I like to call “fibroid hell” began, I always took my health, stamina, and quite frankly, my uterus for granted. Had I known this was going to happen, I would have tried harder to find a husband and have some little rascals of my own! But I've made peace with the fact that I may not ever have children. I've always been open to adoption, and as a person of faith, I believe that if it's in God's plan for me to have children, I'll have them. And if it's not in the plan, I'll still have more than 10 beautiful nieces and nephews that bring me a lot of joy.

Having the surgery, being close to turning 40, and especially losing my father last year has reminded me that I really can't take life for granted, and to make the best of every moment. In our crazy busy, always on-the-move lives, we too often forget that we don't have forever to make an impact in this world, and I want to make my mark. I intend to make the best of my time while I'm here, and I'm starting today.