Keeping Perspective

Today was a hard day.  That makes the fantastic days that I let slip by in September without documenting, really piss me off.  But here I am at the tail end of a hard, hard day and need to write about it.  I could go on and on about the details that made it such a hard day.

However, two days ago I texted my college roommate and told her I hoped her daughter would have a fabulous 6th birthday and would enjoy celebrating her special day in kindergarten.  She texted me back thanks but...sorry to deliver sad news...a friend we went to college with, his 18 month old daughter died in her sleep that night before.  Stop everything.  Heart breaking.  I couldn't stop thinking about it all day.  It's been at least a decade since I've seen him, but the thought of anyone losing a child, beyond.  Their only child.  Devastating.  Sickening.  But two days passed and I thought about it less and less.  Tonight my dad called to tell me the news.  I told him I knew.  I shocked myself to think of already, how less often I thought of her.  Then I read the little baby's obituary.  After complaining about my day through dinner to Mark... my priorities are once back.  It's amazing how busy life can get that you can quickly forget what's important.  I/We want our kids to be the best they can be so we're sticklers to them.  As I am for my class.  Which basically means I spend my life giving reminders to small children every waking moment of my life.

However, I am so very blessed I have three beautiful healthy sleeping children.  I am blessed I have 20 (and only 20) students I am already so invested in I am willing to email parents multiple times a day.  Make several phone calls every day.  Even though I have parents who are in denial about their child's behavior I have one that emailed me and said, ".....I will hug you next time I see you...."

Tomorrow two people will bury their baby girl.  I hope to slow down and keep things in perspective much more often, because we all know how fast things can change.