I had to take a First Aid/CPR class yesterday because my certification ran out in March. My part time helper and I went together since hers was about to expire as well. The class was scheduled from 5-10:30p. Normally if the students demonstrate competency in the skill we are not required to do every single drill provided in the class and are finished well before 10:30. Not this time! Our instructor was adamant that we practice, practice, practice. I do see her point, I definitely have skills drilled into my head, but that was a really long class! And my wrist is sore from doing so many chest compressions on the practice dummy over and over and over and over. But now I'm certified for another two years. Yay!
I knew I was certifiable.
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As I was sitting in the office this morning doing some work I was listening to Amanda pointing out various stuffed animals in the playroom and asking Michael what color each one was. He identified nearly every color correctly - blue, green, purple, yellow, red. He had to try twice with orange, at first he said red, and when asked again correctly said orange. And I had to think how, when I first met him, in the hospital at five months old, and even for the next ten months to a year the professionals - Doctors, therapists, etc - said he was possibly blind and deaf, that he could not be expected to develop and learn much at all, that the damage and brain tissue loss from the many times he stopped breathing were going to cause irreversible damage. In fact, many times we were not even sure if he was going to live through the latest crisis. He's now 3 1/2 and counts to 10, knows most of the alphabet, correctly identifying most letters, knows his colors, most of his shapes, loves being read to and has memorized parts of his favorite books. This is the child who stole my phone and camera this morning and ran through the house yelling "Nana-nana boo-boo" with me in hot pursuit. The child who regularly gets my cell phone, redials the last person I spoke too, and has long conversations with them that leave them laughing. I say all this to say, Never, never give up. Miracles do happen.
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Today my most repeated phrase to myself was "I choose to be happy!" It's amazing how much difference it makes in my attitude and how I feel when I make a conscious choice to be happy, no matter what. Happiness is a choice, it really is. It doesn't mean that I like everything that happens or that I won't work to change some things. But right now, in this moment, I choose to be happy. It is possible.
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