For some reason today when I woke up I just knew it was going to be a great day. I don't know why but I just felt like today was going to be a great day. I work as a server, and today was a Sunday shift, which most weeks is the worst shift because of the volume of business. Dealing with the public has its ups and downs, and for some reason Sundays are usually downs. I don't know what it is, but church brings out the evil in people it seems. I don't know why, whenever I go to church I feel amazing afterwards, but for some reason when the church crowd hits the doors and get sat down to eat their manners seem to disappear. I'm used to being treated like a servant because let's face it that is what I am, but some of the things I see on Sundays takes it too far. The complaining about this and that just makes me wanna tell people to shut up and stay home. The way people talk to me makes me think that they don't realize that I get paid 2.13 an hour and that I am a pretty big guy that is more than capable of finding another job. It just seems like on Sunday Guests will treat you and speak to you in ways they would not do if you were in some other public setting. Today however was different, people were amazing to me and truly having the Guests that I had today is the reason why I love doing what I do. Work went by in a flash.
When I got home I turned on the t.v. and watched my Niners win, so that is always a huge uplifting feeling for me. After the game I went out to our sun room/deck to sit down and watch my brother's daughters play in the backyard. Holly, my brothers wife was putting the shish ka bobs on the grill and my brother was on the lawnmower mowing the lawn. I looked over and watched Emma running.
Emma was diagnosed with a rare sarcoma ( I hope that is how it is spelled) on her first birthday. It was a very hard time in our lives. I have been with Emma since the day she was born. My Brother and his wife had just moved back to Oklahoma from Texas so he could open up a new store. He worked long hours and his wife did too. On the day Emma was born I was sitting outside the delivery room and my brother walked out and we hugged each other and shared some tears. It was an amazing moment. Holding Emma for the first time was a feeling I had only experienced once before when my son was born. My brother and I are twins and to say that we are close doesn't really do our relationship justice.
So much of our younger years were spent fighting over stupid things. I look back now and think, "man I wish I had those years back" because one thing a new life reminds you of is an old life. I love my brother more than I can express, I just think he is a great man, in every sense of the word "GREAT." He works hard, he is a great dad, amazing husband, and my biggest fan. When I have any kind of success he is the first one to call me tell me that he is proud of me, but what really makes me feel good is when other people talk to me about the things he says about me. My brother is always bragging on me. I hope everyone of you has someone in your corner that is always showering people you don't know with positive and proud words about you. It is a great feeling to have.
Like I said when Emma was born my brother was working long hours and Holly was back at work soon after we brought Emma home. I was the owner of a bar at the time so most days I wouldn't get home till the early mornings. Most days when Holly went to work I would be the one to take care of Emma. I would just place her little body on my chest why I lied on the couch and feel her little heartbeat against mine. I'd kiss her forehead and whisper "I love you" to her while she would just sleep on my chest. I loved being there with, even though I was exhausted, I wouldn't have had it any other way.
So when Emma was diagnosed I felt the pain of a father along with my brother. I was scared, I had only gotten a year with babygirl and I'm sorry, but I'm greedy and wanted many more years. Babygirl went through surgery after surgery and so many Chemo treatments before she was able to ring the bell at the OU Medical Center. One of the surgeries that she had to have was the removal of her thigh muscle.
Today as I watched her running around in the yard I noticed how much she limped and it broke my heart. My heart was broken because my babygirl would forever be scared and different. Whether your a parent or an uncle the one thing you never want is for your loved one to be different from the "Normal" kids because kids can be cruel. I started thinking about her as she played with her pom pom that she got from her cheerleader camp and realized that it was a real possibility that she wouldn't be able to be a cheerleader. Then I started thinking about all the limitations she would have and I choked back tears, even now as I type this post and I start to think about it I am choking back tears. Life is hard enough without having to grow up different. "It's just not fair" I thought to myself. Then I stopped looking at her run around and starting listening to her.
She was laughing. I looked at her face and she had a big smile. My babygirl wasn't upset about the things she wouldn't be able to do. She never even thought about it. She is just happy as can be. I hear her yell at her dad, so he turns off the mower and she crawls in his lap and tells him she loves him. Then Josh turned the mower back on and started mowing with her driving. She laughed even louder. I was filled with so much pride because I knew right then that she was going to be an amazing, strong, beautiful, and unique woman. My niece is not "different", she is "UNIQUE," and that is something every parent hopes their child is, unique.
Then I looked at Babygirl's little sister B&E (I call her that because she is always breaking into my room to steal my guitar picks, it stands for Breaking and Entering) and B&E was laughing and have a good time. I looked at my brother and look of joy he had on his face while driving his daughter around, and saw Holly look at him and smile as she watched him play with the girls, and I thought to myself that I really do have an amazing life.
There are so many things that happen in a day that can bring you down. People will say and do things that will anger you or hurt your feelings, but when that happens I hope that all of you have something unique in your life that you can think about that makes you realize how Awesome your life is and that the little annoying things in your day that you have to deal with are just that; Little. I am so blessed to have a life that is Unique.
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| "LOVE sculpture NY" by Hu Totya - Own work. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LOVE_sculpture_NY.JPG#mediaviewer/File:LOVE_sculpture_NY.JPG |
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