Prevailing wisdom would have us believe that unexpected tragedy is the best way to have our blessings appear in sharp relief against the backdrop of our suffering, stress, and anxiety. I have been lucky in my life thus far not to have experienced a tragedy of this sort. So how does someone like me, with the requisite number of stressors that come with parenthood and adult life, but lacking the world-view changing tragic event, count her blessings?
Last Thursday, June 21st, I gave birth to my second daughter. We brought Ava Marie home to meet her two big sisters, Lacey and Kaylee (my wonderful stepdaughter), Saturday afternoon. Since Saturday my home has been a happy whirlwind of visiting friends and relatives.
Towards the end of this pregnancy I worried about the lack of fanfare surrounding the arrival of my second-born. With Lacey there were baby showers and all the general excitement of the arrival of a first baby. Lacey and I basked in the glow of all the attention! We were the hottest attraction around for at least her first month! Fast forward to Ava's arrival...no showers, a few cards. All of Lacey's out-grown baby clothes, toys and supplies have been dusted off and dragged out of the closet for their second round. Despite all the visitors and the hard work of my daughter and I getting to know each other and learning to read her cues, a kind of serene contentment has settled in my life.
Ava has fallen into her place in our family with such ease. And she has brought with her a pure joy I have never experienced before. Lacey and Kaylee both have their part in this feeling too. When I watch them fawn over Ava and beg to hold her and kiss her, I am literally awash with happiness. I think surely there is something, sometime I've done and then forgotten that makes me deserving of this kind of joy.
So this is how an already fortunate person like myself counts her blessings: I watch three beautiful little girls at play in my livingroom (usually not fighting!), I watch their dad pause from his chores outside to wrestle and toss in the air his adoring daughters...in general, I just open my eyes in the morning and there all my blessings are, lined up for my enjoyment.
So, the moral of this story? Happiness begets happiness maybe? I don't know...and maybe that's the point, the not knowing. Maybe the best way for me to honor my overflow of blessings is to embrace them without question, along with whatever else life throws my way.
