First and foremost is of course my husband! Dean is my true love, my rock, the one who makes me laugh when I need it most and let's me cry on his shoulder when I need to. He has a quiet, calm personality and in turn that makes me a better person. When I get upset, he lets me be upset. When I'm happy, he makes me happier. When we met 13 years ago, I knew right away that there was something special about him (maybe a little of it was that he was wearing a cowboy hat, boots & line dancing..hehe). I'm a true believer that everything happens for a reason. You might not know it at the time, but somewhere down the road, you will. If I had not made the choices I made, if life hadn't led me down the road I took, I probably would have never met Dean....and I never would have had Ryan! He is a wonderful husband and father.
Oh yes, Ryan! How can a mother not be thankful for her son? My preemie prince who surprised us and couldn't wait to come into this world so he came 11 1/2 wks early. He even surprised the doctors & nurses the day after he was born because they found a small pinhole in his small intestine after doing a routine x-ray to make sure the PICC line was inserted properly. Ryan wasn't even showing any effects from that hole. Nevertheless, surgery was performed on my little man, weighing only 2 lbs. 13 oz. He was able to be transferred to the NICU Stepdown unit 2 weeks later, where he stayed for 7 more weeks. He went into surgery again a week before he came home, so the doctors could reverse the ileostomy (put the intestine back together). We finally were able to all come home together, 69 days after Ryan was born. I am so thankful for the memories we've made & looking forward to thousands of more memories. I'm so thankful for the things Ryan has taught me. He's taught me to be patient, walk slowly, play and play some more, laugh more and cry less, stop and listen--listen to the birds chirping or an airplane flying above, and most of all he's taught me how to slow down and enjoy the little things in life.
I'm so very thankful to have my parents, my sister, my brother and all my extended family in my life. I cannot imagine life without them, especially these past 2 years. My mom & dad have done far beyond whatever needed to be done, from driving me back and forth from the hospital to basically giving up their retirement so my mom can watch Ryan. I cannot express how much love & gratitude I have for them. My siblings, Dean's family & my relatives have been so supportive & helpful. I've never felt like I had to hide anything or any detail of Ryan's life.
What would life be without my friends? Terrible! My dear friends, some of them live close, others far away but I love all my friends. They too have been such a strong lifeline during the past 2 years. I know I can call my friends any time of the day or night and they will be there for me. I am so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.
Of course, I can't forget my "cyber" friends. I would have never thought I would have people I'd call friends but have never met in person. After becoming a preemie mom and finding others in a similar situation (having a preemie), that thought went out the window. The support I've found with ALL my mom friends is priceless. I'm so clueless when it comes to some parts (okay a lot of parts)of parenting and having other mom's to vent with or ask questions and get advice is heaven! Hopefully one day I'll get to meet some of these great moms and our kids can have a playdate!
Have a wonderful & blessed Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving Karen! I hope you and your family have an incredible day!
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