Bright Spots on a Dark Day

Thursday was one of my worst days in awhile. I felt despondent, overwhelmed and so sad that I couldn't stop crying all day. I had the day off, which is never good! Work keeps me focused and busy, and is the best distraction I could ask for right now. Anyway, even though the day sucked, there were two bright spots and I figured, rather than dwell on the sadness, I might as well talk about the good things!

I found Shannon's blog via the T18 site and have been addicted ever since! She is an amazing person, with a beautiful family. Her little Owen passed away in October, and her strength and dignity at how she's dealing with this are truly inspirational to me. I can only hope that I am mucking my way through this with half her grace ...

I received a care package from Shannon which touched me so much. In it was an outfit for Toot, a beautiful CD and the most adorable bracelets I've ever seen. Since we don't have an official name for Miss Toot yet, Shannon made me two bracelets, one for each of the names on our short list! (Kris, don't tell anyone!) Here's a picture of the bracelets:

It's the first outfit Toot has received, and of course the entire package made me cry. The kindness of a relative stranger just totally overwhelmed me and as my husband said when I showed him everything, there really are good people in this world. This is not a fun journey, let me tell you. But the fact that there are other people out there going through it and surviving and willing to help you survive just amazes and I cannot thank Shannon enough! I had been so afraid to buy anything for Toot, but now that she has her first adorably cute item of clothing, I think I might have the courage to add a few things to her wardrobe!

The other bright spot came when we met with an MFM specialist/geneticist at Women and Infant's. She was amazing and easily one of the most compassionate doctors I've ever met. She answered all our questions, told us more about delivering at W&I, and at the end of the appointment, said she would love to be our doctor. I've been so nervous about where to deliver, but Dr. O said she'll set us up with a tour of the NICU, a meeting with a neonatologist and would basically do anything else we needed. She gave us her cell phone number and said to call her anytime with any question we can think of. She was awesome and I think our decision is made.

I truly believe that every kindness we encounter is a small gift from God. Without them, this journey would be unbearable ...