Friday Faves: Believe in Miracles

I believe in miracles. Who knew?

I believe in miracles. Who knew?

As of about 48 hours ago I was still complaining about my life.

I was feeling overwhelmed.

I had a lot of work to do.

I had too many kids.

I had a bunch of driving back and forth from the middle of Pennsylvania to New Jersey awaiting me.

I needed to get my daughter ready to leave for college in said middle of nowhere.

I had to figure out how to pay for all of the things.

So there was a lot of hand wringing and weepy moments this week as I shared my distress with a couple of close friends.

But here’s the good news: I pick really good friends. Like, I keep negative and crazy at bay and really try to surround myself with folks who exude good energy.

I recommend it.

So, I was telling my friend Dan, you know him — The Girl Whisperer — about my woes and he listened very carefully and said, in all seriousness, “Your life is great.”

He went on: “Love your children. Love your work. Enjoy everything about your life. These are not big problems. Big problems are coming. These are not big problems.”

Dan, as you may recall, recently had a run in with cancer. And it beat the shit out of him. Actually, it killed him, however briefly. At the end of January, after 33 rounds of radiation to his face and neck and chemo that caused magnesium to slowly leak undetected out of his kidney, his heart stopped beating. Apparently magnesium is really important. Some little doctor jumped on his chest and broke his ribs in her effort to resuscitate him and then he was popped on ice in an induced coma for two days. And when the doctors brought his around, he was fine. I mean, fine in terms of he was alive and hadn’t incurred any brain damage.

Which apparently never happens.

So the medical staff started referring to Dan as “The Miracle Man” as he slowly began to recover following the coma. During his treatment he’d lost over 40 pounds, all his hair and all the muscle he’d built and maintained and created a business around. His whole life had been dedicated to good health.

And now six months later, he’s back on my couch looking and sounding almost like his old self. Every week his face looks a little fuller and his voice a little stronger but his spirit is so strong. I can feel it.

So when he told me that my life was good, I really knew what he meant. I had the honor of waking up that morning and getting out of bed and going about my day. My children have all their fingers and toes and most of their wits and whatever challenges I face will resolve themselves one way or another.

There are much worse things.

So right there I decided I should just shut the fuck up.

Yesterday, while I was sitting at the kitchen table working and staring at a full calendar for the day of writing and a meeting and a trip to the Genius Bar to get the soon-to-be-college-girl’s laptop issues resolved, my oldest child — who at 22 is hard pressed to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for himself — asked me if I wanted him to go food shopping.

Granted, our cupboards were bare, but usually that would just call for complaints, not action. This was an impressive move and one that I did not see coming.

Later, we brought the mail in and stuck between my gas bill and yet another bullshit Victoria’s Secret catalog was a check, ladies and gentlemen, for something I wrote that is going to be published in a national magazine. Like, the kind they sell at the supermarket checkout aisle and Target.

So between Dan’s amazing recovery and that much-needed check and my son’s generous assist, I’ve come to one very big conclusion: Miracles do happen. And sometimes they come when you least expect them.

Here are a few other tidbits I’ve found slightly miraculous this week:

  • Usually I’m prepared for long drives. I’m a fan of the audiobook. But I hadn’t done any prep work for the eight hours I drove at the beginning of the week to get my girl out to new student orientation. Actually, for the four-hour leg early Sunday morning, we sat in silence for a while and then began to talk. And we pretty much talked most of the drive. And if you’ve spent any time with an 18yo — even a really nice one — you know that that’s not always the case. Sometimes they wear headphones or a scowl that does not invite conversation. So I enjoyed our chatting. But driving the four hours home Monday night, we were kind of all talked out so I fiddled around with stations on XM and discovered one of my very-best-make-believe-TV-girlfriends has her own radio show and I happily drove and listened to her joke about her hair and interview Candace Bushnell. It totally beat listening to The Bridge or 70s on 7.
  • We left the Apple store last night and Daughter #2 commented that it was the first time she’d done that without anybody spending any money. New territory for us. Then we headed to the Verizon mall store where Daughter #1 bought herself an iPhone 6 and her little sister, duly impressed, told her she was a “grown ass woman.” But then we learned that you can pay about $25 and Verizon will put a piece of glass over your iPhone screen, which both of the girls ended up paying for, and we left feeling like we’d killed that mall trip.
  • While at the mall, we had to drift into Aerie and I’m sorry but I always find things I love there. Sadly, all my money is spoken for these days, but if I had a few sheckels to spare, I would have totally scooped up this and this and this and been the most glamorous girl at the beach this summer.
  • I made my third going-to-college pilgrimage to Target this week and while there’s really not a lot out yet for dorm living, we found a cute comforter kind of like this and my girl is kind of obsessed with these sheets . Add some lady products and a bottle of Tums and it was an easy $500 to kiss good-bye.
  • What would the getting-a-kid-ready-to-go-to-college-experience be like without a trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond as well? They are still pushing outdoor living and haven’t really put a back-to-school section together but I did spy these totally adorable Kate Spade comforters and was glad we’d already bought our much-cheaper Target versions.

Believe in miracles, everyone. They really do happen.

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21 thoughts on “Friday Faves: Believe in Miracles

  1. You’re an amazing and gifted writer! I’m hooked…you always make my day, keep all in perspective, and make me laugh, sometimes out loud!!! Last night I read out loud to all kids (23,21,17,12 yrs) “An Open Letter to My Kids About Summer.” Their reactions were hysterical and priceless. A good “life is great” day!
    ps- a book would be amazing!!!!!!

    • Debbie … I love that letter, too, and only wish I’d written it!! Glad you have fun reading stuff I do write and yes, I agree, life is great. xo

      • my mistake!!! sorry!!! and now i remember how i received that article!!! a friend of mine introduced me to your blog, which i absolutely fell in love with. knowing how much i love reading your humanistic and hit-home articles, she then forwarded me the “open letter” article! all great! LOVE LOVE LOVE them all! Keep them coming!!!

  2. I try to remember that my problems are small. Money, too small house that needs work, 4 kids with their ups and downs. I also try to remember how lucky I am. Some days are harder than others. 6 years ago today my friend, mother of 6 daughters was driving home from the pool in a storm. She had 5 of her daughters and a couple of their friends in the car. She only had to drive a couple miles but on the way in the storm, a tree fell on her car. She and her 6 year old daughter were killed.
    Deep breath, smile and love.

    • Wow, Stephanie. Wow. I am so, so sad to hear this about your friend. What a tragedy. But also a good reminder of how precious this all is. Hug your babies and maybe thank God you don’t have a bigger house because it’s just that much more to clean. So glad you shared this and thanks so much for reading. xo

  3. As crazy as life can be, you gotta keep things in perspective. Be thankful for what you have, try (and I mean really try) not to sweat the little stuff and remember that everyday above ground is a bonus!

    Great read Amy!

    • Will do! I’ve been sitting on it and holding my breath but now that I’ve got the check in the bank, I guess I can start talking about it soon … 😉

  4. Thank you Amy!!! Glad I am back in your life!! You are a good…. Now eat the egg whites please…

  5. Ya gotta believe. Oh, and I have the Goldfinch on audio if you (or anyone else) wants to borrow it. That’s 23 discs of driving time. 🙂

  6. Yes have to be grateful for the miracles . My daughter , who is also starting at the “we are” school in August , and I went to a grad party of a hs classmate who was out her whole senior year with non-hodgkins lymphoma but managed to go to prom and graduation and get admitted to U Michigan deferred . So I found myself not crying because my divorce is about to be final after 25 years of marriage or that I am soon going to be an empty nester , or because I have to deal with the unchartered waters of deciding who moves my daughter in and goes to parents weekend. Rather I was crying for this family and all they had gone through and that we were all getting to celebrate with her. There is always something to be happy about . See you at college .

    • Karen! Just dropped my gal off at Penn State today for the summer session and while I am BEYOND SAD for many reasons, I know in my heart that it’s truly all good. So happy for Little Miss UMich and wouldn’t it be funny if we crossed paths in the next four yeas? So glad you’re reading and love hearing from you … 😉

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