Days of signs, humanity and much beauty in this world…

As I sat in my living room this evening, I was glued to my television. Rarely a tv watcher, tonight seemed typical of the past few days for me. On tv this evening was the 2012 MDA show of strength, a benefit to raise awareness for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
The past few days have been emotionally intense. Between my natural emotional state, which includes feeling too much for those less fortunate and taking on emotions even when I am not faced with certain realities head on, I have had my share of tears. For the first time in years, I have been fortunate to notice the many people on-line that I am connected to, as well as others through my daily travels that are making an attempt at raising awareness in some way or another. On Facebook alone, I have had the pleasure of liking and shedding a tear or two for so many touching stories. Whether related to people or animals, the beauty has overwhelmed me.
There was a picture of a set of infant twins in a hospital. An incredible nurse fought for the twins to be allowed to sleep with one another. One of the twin girls was not expected to live. The stronger of the two wrapped her arm around her sister. The touch of her arm slowed her sister’s heart rate and she calmed down. This was just the beginning of her healing. The doctors had not believed she would make it through the night. She did… and then some.
Another story I had the luxury of reading was that of a very sick boy in a hospital. His dog, laying on the end of his hospital bed as he slept… I have no words to express the beauty of hearing stories like that.
Today, after a truly exceptional day with my daughters, I took them out to eat. At the restaurant, we were seated next to a family with two boys in wheelchairs. Both were hooked up to multiple tubes. My daughter’s normally don’t pay much attention when they see others in a wheelchair because they are used to it between neighbors and other people we know. This time was different. I asked my daughter why she was staring and she replied, “because mommy, they look sad. They don’t look like the people we know.” It’s hard for me to admit this but she was right.
On our way home, I felt an overwhelming urge to visit a spot which is special for our family a reminder of our puppy Lola who passed away too early in her life. As my girls and I walked, the world seemed quiet, almost still. The air was fresh and none of us spoke. It was almost as if we had a silent agreement just to be in the moment. It was beautiful and surreal.
Tonight’s show was filled with amazing stories. One that stood out and touched my heart was told by a firefighter with 3 daughters. One of his daughters has MD. She is a 9-year-old twin. Her father, the firefighter, was recently diagnosed with a life threatening illness himself. He has ALS. Since his daughter was diagnosed with MD, he has done so much to help raise money and awareness for the disease. It just seems unfair that he now, has to worry about being able to take care of himself when all he wants to do is take care of his beautiful, young daughter. Each story was difficult to hear but, the amount of people helping with the cause and the strength that exuded from each one represented something greater.
The past few days have been pretty amazing regardless of all my tears (minus that I may have lost some water weight)… Although it may be that I have not paid enough attention to everything around me, I would like to believe that all the signs that have popped up every time I turn, are a direct reflection of a changing world. One which more people are aware of things going on around us, and more willing to play apart in helping those less fortunate. There is truly beauty in our world and many more amazing people than I ever dreamed of. Something has changed in the air. Today’s air, while visiting my angel Lola was just the beginning of many more signs to come.