appreciate

 Originally posted 2012.

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” - Thornton Wilder

I don't think a person can ever appreciate enough.  It takes what could be stressful situations and turns them into something positively powerful.

I got a call around 9:20 last night that our daycare provider, who is never, ever sick . . . is sick.  My husband has been in Tennessee for work since Sunday night and not expected home until about 9:00 tonight.  I'm a teacher, which means "calling in sick" is actually a very long, work-involved process of sub plans and room preparation.

With 2 sleeping kids and no husband at home, there was no way that I could reasonably go into school to make sub plans.  Of course, making them from home is always an option, but I still need to go in at some point.  Long story short, I was feeling a lot of pressure to figure out a plan, but really no easy answer.  So . . . I put my worries away, left a message with my in-laws, enjoyed an hour or reading in bed, and trusted that things would work out or I'd at least manage in the morning.  Sure enough, when I tried my in-laws again this morning, they were happy to take my sweet boy, who will jump for joy when he finds out that he gets a day with Grandma and Grandpa all to himself.  This is a beautiful thing!!  Certainly not worth stressing about, so I am glad that I was able to purposefully make another choice.

And then this morning I was listening to the news.  The bodies of two sweet, young girls who went missing in July in Iowa were found by hunters yesterday.  My heart squeezed with so much sadness.  I think of those parents and what they must be feeling.  I can't even begin to comprehend where I'd go from there.  I think of those girls and what they must have gone through . . . and I'm flooded with anger for the evil that took them from their innocent lives.

I think of how fortunate I am that this morning I can get my beautiful boys up, hug them so close, and tell them all over again how deeply crazy I am for them, how hugely I love them, how nothing will ever change that.  And I'm grateful . . . and I appreciate today.  Even in the middle of chaos and darkness, there is much to appreciate if you can see between the curtains.

It is worth a peek.