As a parent, we are gifted with children. They are beautiful and wondrous lessons that grow with us everyday. They teach us much more about life. They teach us how to stop. Children show us the fallacy of living outside the now, the present moment. Over the past 14 years, I have learned how to love in the most courageous ways possible. Love is an action word. Tabby taught me to be very active in loving her. Even in the simplest things, I must remain present. It sounds so simple. The business of life is structured in a way that we are always planning ahead. Osteogenesis Imperfecta didn’t let me plan that way. I learned to plan hour by hour, day by day, event by event. The future was as tangible as two days without pain. The future is as bright as her smile. Tabby teaches me how to see the joy, everyday. She dances just as soon as she’s able. These are the lessons I never imagined from what seemed to be a dire diagnosis. 

 

Tabby taught me to trust community, work with the doctors, and trust myself. In doing so, we settled into spaces  that support her growth. We could relax a little. There will always be a broken bone. Emergency rooms are in proximity. Diagnosis isn’t destiny. It’s a road with potholes. Flat tires are to be expected. Fix it and keep moving. We still have a vehicle that moves. Sometimes, we have to see it to believe it. I see it everyday, and that’s why I am grateful for Tabby.