When The Hill Gets High

29 Apr 2010 No Comments

by Worth Itin Family, Happiness, Love, Stress Tags: , ,

We like our bike
It’s made for three
Our Mike sits up in back you see
We like our Mike
and this is why
Mike does all the work when the hill gets high….*

 

It’s been a tough couple of weeks around our house. It’s baseball, tae kwon do, AND dance recital time. We’ve had tae kwon do three nights a week, baseball practice and baseball games. We had pictures for dance. Usually, this is a lot of work, but not a problem because I can manage work/life balance pretty well. This year, however, I had my company’s largest customer meeting, in New Orleans, during this time. I had presentations to create, presentations to review and all the prep work for being away from the office for three days.

Despite all these extra things,  this year,has been better….better because we have our Mike. And when the hills of responsibility and duty have gotten high, he’s pushed us all up them.

Thank you, Mike. We all appreciate who you are and what you’ve done for us.

We love you.

*From Dr Seuss’s One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

Baggage

13 Apr 2010 1 Comment

by Worth Itin Love, Stress Tags: ,

We are shaped by the relationships with friends and lovers of our past.  There’s no doubt about that.  I am a better person because of almost every relationship I’ve been in.  But with every broken heart and lost commitment comes baggage.  Baggage makes us react inappropriately.  Baggage makes us reach for blame.  Baggage makes us act like victims instead of making things happen for us.  Most days, I recognize my baggage and manage my way through it, logically.  But on those spectacular days, when my baggage partners with my somewhat shaky self-esteem, I seem to fall apart.  I’m no longer logical. I’m an emotional wreck.  I can’t talk about it, OR EVEN WRITE ABOUT IT, because my logical mind can’t resolve the emotional issues.  (Of note, it’s taken me three days to write this post so far.) 

But I have spent the last three days thinking about it.  And baggage, while a heavy troublesome load some days, also allows us to carry the courage to resolve little things before they become the big things that hurt in the past.  We have places to house the lessons we’ve learned.  Baggage holds dear the secrets that we’ve kept to ourselves but somehow when we let those secrets out of the bag, we grow.  We’re stronger in our own right.  We’re stronger in our relationships. In the end, our load is lighter, because someone is eventually willing to help us carry our baggage.

With a fuller heart and a lesser burden,

Angi

She Changed Me

07 Apr 2010 5 Comments

by Worth Itin Love Tags:

 

A little over a year ago, I stumbled upon Heather’s blog through Twitter.  Maddie’s smile captivated me.  She was so fun to read about.  And then, so quickly after I had discovered Maddie and her mom, she was gone.  Something I’m sure no one considered possible had happened and because of it,  I was changed.  Maddie and her joy for life have made me stop and take notice of rich purples, vibrant yellows and the most beautiful shades of pink.   Her mother, Heather, has showed me the true beauty of spirit, the depths that unconditional love can take you to and pull you from.  Mike has reminded me that when words escape us, music can set our soul at ease.  And sweet little Annabel brought joy to her family even in the depths of sorrow.

It’s true, I hug my kids tighter, today and every day because Maddie, Heather, Mike and Annabel have taught me to treasure the moment.  They have shown me that love and beauty and strength live forever in our hearts and the hearts of others.

Maddie, you are loved today and everyday by those who knew you and those who can only wish they’d had the chance.

With love,

Angi

 Please consider donating to Friends of Maddie today, in honor of her.  Help another NICU family and sponser a support pack.