Thankful

My last few posts have been quite negative. And probably not that nice to read. Tonight its different. I wanted to share the positives that this journey has bought.

I am thankful. Very very thankful. Aaliyah's condition is not life threatening. She will have a full and happy life. Something that I have been reminded of recently. She is not severely disabled is any way. She can walk, talk, run and be as cheeky as the next toddler. I am determined to never take this for granted.

Having Aaliyah has taught me so many things. To not judge others. You never know what someone else is going through until you have walked in their shoes, or at least taken the time to listen to their story. I think as mothers we are so quick to judge other parents for what they do. You know the whole damned if you do, damned if you dont senario. Having walked the path we have over the past 18 months I have had to learn to take away all preconcieved notions of people. I have also learned not to judge people with so called disablities. Not to stare, or whisper. Instead smile, not a sympathetic smile but a genuine "i hope you have a good day" smile.

I have also become more aware of how amazing my family is. Now dont get me wrong. Jose and I have always known that we have amazing families. But since having Aaliyah their support, generosity and love have just been overwhelming. We would not have been able to get through those first few months without them. We really are blessed. They love us and Aaliyah to bits, and have always supported the decisions we have made. They have also spent many hours researching her condition, listening to us (well lets face it mainly me) debrief, been shoulders for us to cry on, let me have my little girl tantrums about how unfair life is... all the while loving us through it. They are also as proud as punch of Aaliyah. Im sure many of you have been subject to listening to anyone of them rave on about how wonderful she is. How blessed is she.

But its not just our family, friends, acquaintances and perfect strangers have all rallied to support us. The fact that we have so many people behind us really blows us away and we cannot thank you enough. The amount of emails and messages of support that I have recieved since starting her page/blog is incredible. But even before then, friends and acquaintances have supported us. Our families from around the country and the world have also rallied to support us. So many people do not have that type of support.

So THANK YOU. From the bottom of my heart. We are so grateful for all the support and prayers that have come our way thus far.

Hug your kids, Tell them you love them, for you never know what tomorrow may bring.