Challenges bring us closer to our true selves. We can pretend they don't bother us, and ignore these challenges, but they will return. Perhaps with a new face, a new name, but the only way to conquer a challenge is to face it head on.
It was last year around this time, that my daughter was gravely ill. We were told that she just may not recover. Well, we did not name her Kelly, which means, WARRIOR WOMAN, for nothing.
And suffice it to say, from a coma, a ventilator, an artificial lung machine affectionately known as ECMO, dialysis, learning to walk again, learning to talk again...this beautiful child was on a mission to fulfill her true destiny in this life. Although, she is not quite sure just what her true purpose on this earth is just yet, and she has yet to fully understand everything that her young body has had to endure, since she was in a coma for so long.
However, she understands enough to know just how precious this life is. As such, she has created a bucket list for herself. And this past weekend, she was determined to check one more thing off. A 5K run.
Now this was no small feat, for it was her lungs that failed her last year leading to her long hospitalization, with so many machines and meds to keep her alive. And it is her lungs that she had to gently nurture back to working order by playing her beloved clarinet that she was so fortunate to play with her symphonic colleagues at Carnegie Hall last year.
She has triumphed in her quest to overcome the lung problems stemming from a bout with pneumonia, so much so, that she ran her very first 5K, checking it off of her bucket list. The 3rd place trophy she received was icing on her pretty little cake. And we are all so very proud of her!
More, she is proud of herself!
We are grateful. We are blessed. And the practice of gratitude is something that I do on a daily basis. I urge everyone to be mindful of the moment at hand...this very moment, and give thanks!
Yes, it is a present...a gift! Make the most of it! Enjoy it to the very fullest!
