On our way to my doctor’s appointment this afternoon, I stopped at the Starbucks drive thru because I was seriously dragging. When driving down to pick up my order Henry had been quiet for a while and suddenly said, “Henry’s scared of snakes!” I asked him why and he told me they are gross. I just laughed. I knew my mom and grandmother would be happy. They are petrified of snakes. I don’t like them either but they give loathing a new meaning.
We went to the doctor’s appointment. Henry has been really interested in doctors and hospitals lately. Everything the doctor did to me he would tell the doctor it was his turn now. She was a good sport and complied. So cute. When she listened to the baby’s heartbeat, Henry said horses again. The doctor gets a kick out of that every time. Then Henry wanted her to listen to his belly and she did. She told him he didn’t have any horses but he really wanted them in his belly too.
Next we went to a local market to get Henry a special treat (dark chocolate covered almonds). He was being a really good boy and was really into socializing with the people around him as usual. When we were in the check out line, there were a bunch of people in it as well. Everyone was quiet and probably impatient. Henry was loving the crowd and suddenly said, “Happy Holidays, everybody!” Everyone thought it was quite funny so then he kept saying it to everyone. I have no idea where he go that from since I never say.
Next we went to the UPS store which wasn’t as calm. Then off to the park. We played at the park for a little while, and then Henry took off running because he saw a dog in the soccer field. I wasn’t too pleased but as I approached the scene I saw two men. One perfectly healthy and one in a wheel chair. I would say they were in their 20’s maybe early 30’s. They were very nice and were throwing a ball to the service dog that was with them. Henry was laughing his ever loving guts out. I think it made their day. I was trying to discretely assess the situation while all of this was going on. The man in the wheel chair had definitely been severely wounded in the war. He had a purple heart wheel chair. Both of his legs were completely missing and parts of his hands were too. I was overcome with the insufficiency of gratitude I could ever display for such a service and such a sacrifice for our freedom. Saying “thank you” seemed so small. I stood in disbelief on how my life was so normal (for a lack of better terms) and this man’s life was forever altered. He was learning a new life. Now, I know God has a plan for all of us. Sometimes the evidence of God is in what people actually survive. I read that in my morning Bible study. People suffer a lot. But God is still there and God has a plan. I was really scared to say thank you to him. But I finally did. I wanted to cry but that would have been completely selfish.
Later I noticed a missed call and I called my mother back. I asked her what you do for people like that to show them your gratitude and she told me to treat them like they are normal. Wow, that is exactly right.
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