Life A.M.

Life after Malcolm has changed my entire perspective on what is important, and has helped reinforce my beliefs. I have been meaning to start photo-blogging for quite some time, but just now have decided to actually begin. Thank you to Laurel Pace for being my inspiration.

So, life with peripartum cardiomyopathy has brought me through a kind of hell I would care never to revisit...

The time in my life that should have been charged with some of the happiest memories, were sprinkled with some of the scariest, and saddest.

Now, the bright side is that my body is healing, and my family is stronger. I can think of the future that I wanted as a real possibility, instead of as a wishlist. I appreciate every breath I take, and the little things that I used to stand up in arms about seem so pointless to dwell on.

I love my husband, and admire that he walked with me down to the pits.
Oh, and I am grateful for my little miracle. I love him so immensely. He is perfect. He knows exactly what needs are, and it's his stupid parents that have to figure everything out.

So, what is important in life? Food, shelter, sleep, and love. Above all else, a nurturing environment, and love. (Might I put in a plug for my religious beliefs here. That love really brings life into focus as well.) It's funny to think that clothes are optional, and baths are overrated. That silly noises can be funny, and stern looks can really hurt a person's feelings. That people rush to fix things when complaints are vocalized... and life is simpler when they are, so that there is no guessing if someone's feelings have been hurt. But, after all of this craziness I have gone through, I have found that it is true. If we spend a little less time thinking of the temporal, or worrying about our appearance and our grooming habits, and instead spend that time searching for the mental and emotional stimulation that we need as beings... well, then the reward in life will be huge. This is what babies are for. Every once in a while a new generation comes into our lives to remind us what is actually important in life. They remind us of the purity of the human soul, and of what we actually need.