perspective

Emily is on the mend from the flu.  She had it Saturday night and it was truly horrible.  I felt so bad for her.  She's so little and has no idea what in the world is going on.  I had a hard time with it too.  It is not comforting to see her go through that, not to mention trying not to get sick yourself while cleaning it up.  I realized that I was scared....I was just waiting on pins and needles to see what would happen next.  My parents came over yesterday to help us cure some serious cabin fever and before they left, I freaked out.  I knew that I was going to be alone with Emily today and I didn't know how I was going to handle all of the whining/crying/pushing away of bottles and food etc...on my own.  So far, she is doing pretty well--although, she still doesn't want to eat much, but compared to yesterday it's A LOT more.  

Okay, so on to the perspective....I was out walking with Emily today (because she seems pretty content outside) and I remembered this one family I ran into while nursing Emily at Nordstroms a few months ago.  A mom and her sister were changing the diaper of a little girl.  Her little girl was probably the age of my youngest niece (2 years old) and she sat in a different kind of stroller/wheelchair with her legs positioned straight in front of her.  Her legs were essentially tied in place.  They had to unbuckle about 6-8 straps just to free her legs.  They were lifeless.  Emily will often lift her legs straight in the air to "help" me change her diaper, but they didn't have any help from their girl.  

Although exhausted from the past couple of days with Emily's illness---it is only temporary.  Her balance is off kilter and she is falling a lot, but that is only temporary too.  The little girl I met a few months ago didn't have the luxury of falling and getting back up.