Blessed.

I'm feeling exceptionally blessed tonight. And that hasn't happened a lot lately.

After a rather long day and a kind of depressing doctor appointment with little B, I headed to a support group meeting for special families. These are always encouraging to me and I really look forward to them each month. When I got there, I sat down next to the nurse that always deals with Brooklyn at the pediatric office and we chatted for a few minutes. Then a lady came in looking a little harried and frustrated, and we waved her over to sit with us. She kept telling me that she was a mess and she was sorry. She looked fine to me. Aren't we all a mess? I replied.

The meeting started and we enjoyed dinner and then went on to listen to a presentation on medicaid disability waivers. Brooklyn already has one of those, but I went anyway because I enjoy the camraderie. And I learned a few things too. Halfway through the presentation through, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the lady next to me was shaking. I glanced over and she was sobbing. At this point, I wasn't sure what to do. I'm a huggy person, but I've come to realize that some people don't appreciate that all of the time. But I went with my instincts and leaned over to give her a big hug and a package of tissues I dug out from the bottom of my purse.

I asked her if she was okay, and she responded that they were about to lose their insurance, and that her daughter had special needs and she didn't know how she was going to pay her bills. She just kept crying and saying that these were the answers she needed. I left her my name and phone number and promised to help her with the application process if she needed it.

I went thinking I would enjoy a meal with people I shared things in common with. I had no idea that I would leave tremendously touched and thankful for a God who has always provided for my girl. I'm so incredibly blessed, and it is so easy to lose sight of that when the circumstances aren't so good (if I hear "brain damage" one more time this week I'm going to scream). But I'm learning (slowly) to find the positives even in the crazy moments... and I'm feeling very blessed.