The Mom Chronicles: A season for Hope
Tis the season! The season of lights. The season of giving. The season of jolly. The season of hope.
This past weekend as we were snowed in like so many of you I had a lot of time to lounge around and ponder life. While it would have been nice to be able to go outside and play, the weather wasn't exactly condusive to doing so. So instead as I lay curled up in my bed,my thoughts were inspired by a number of recent events and as I pondered them one theme seemed to emerge:hope.
First on my mind was the recent stories of vandalism we have heard. As I shared earlier in the fall my family fell victim to such thoughtless acts when our pumpkins were stolen. Two weeks later I walked out my front door to find a car covered in ketchup. Certainly both events left me scratching my head wondering what kind of town I am raising my kids in. Sharing these stories with others, I heard others share their stories of things stolen or vandalized in their yards. On the heels of this has now come the thoughtless, cruel act of the spray painting of homes and cars, and even Chad's snowman and hot tub being targeted. Now I admit my initial reactions to these things were that our police department may need to step it up a bit in their patroling. Also that we have some kids in this town in serious need of more constructive, respectful things to do with their time and parents who need to step up and provide them. But my thoughts could not stay here in reading the story last week of how people from this same town that has produced delinquents, has also produced the kind of people that would join together and carol on the doorstops of the innocent people who were impacted by these disgusting acts of others. My own family was touched by similar kindness when a neighbor anonymously left us new pumpkins on our front steps after ours were taken. And so while I continue to feel sad about the dark side of Hastings which has emerged, I also now feel a sense of hope. Hope that there are enough good people in this community to outweigh the bad. Hope that this will be a good place to raise my kids and that these events do not represent the community as a whole. Hope that next year our holidays will not be touched by the unkind hands of others.
Another source of hope I found this weekend lies with in my kids. As my daughter is wrapping up in her final sessions of physical therapy and she is making substantial improvements in her gross motor development, I find hope in the fact that she has made progress and in time will hopefully be able to fully keep up with her peers. We are not quite there yet, but we are getting there. As for my son his recent diagnosis of ADHD has been a tremendous source of hope. It has opened him up to being able to receive various therapies and has seen his first speech therapy sessions which were able to be productive and show growth. I have hope for his future and it feels good.
Hope has also emerged in the form of an early ultrasound I had this week. After losing our last two, this baby I have on board has continued to grow and develop and we were able to see it's beautiful beating heart and little body forming. There is no guarantee things will stay this way or that this baby will also not be lost, but we have new hope in the form of an encouraging ultrasound that perhaps our family will be growing after all.
As it pertains to my continuing school, I have hope here as well. I just completed my third semester back at college and it feels good. I feel a new sense of purpose and direction. While it is taking longer then I hoped and my desire to be a paramedic isn't an easy road to be venturing on in this stage of my life, it is one I remain commited to. I continue to do well and have overcome multiple adversities in my being back. Each day when I see the ambulance come past my house I still have hope that one day I will be working on it. Hope.
Now, while it would be easy to try to find hope in material things like a new Vikings stadium now that ours is apparently on its last leg, or in such things as money or other earthly things, the reality is that the things which provide us with the most hope, the things that mean the most, are the things that emerge because of or in the form of other people. I have hope in the good of others because of the kind lady at Emily's bakery that takes time each time I am in to show genuine interest and concern for myself and my family even when life isn't all that bright for her right now. I have hope in the good of others because of my daughter's speech therapist Dana who has provided valuable resources and insight for both my children to my family. I have hope in the good of others as I watched strangers shovel and push each other out this past weekend amid this massive snowstorm. And finally I have hope in others because for each act of vandalism or thoughtless actions of others, there are a dozen acts of generosity and kindness of human spirit that emerge that over shadow them. And so for that I am happy that this season, I have so much to be hopeful for.
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