And Yet Another Reminder...

I remember a camping trip several years ago with some friends. Just as the sun was rising in the morning I was somewhat startled by the voice a friend in the tent next to mine exclaiming as loud as she could "I'm Alive!" She was so enthusiastic about life, that I have no doubt this exclamation was a morning tradition. It was a great reminder to me of what a blessing it is to be given another day to life - something I had rarely thought about (especially first thing in the morning).

I have never been a very good morning person (my parent's can attest to my grumpy mornings at their house). Over the years I have tried to convince myself that waking up early is wonderful. Sure, there are lots of great benefits to early rising - beautiful sunrises, getting a good start on the day, enjoying a few peaceful moments before the rest of the world begins it's hustle and bustle. But really when it comes down to it, most mornings I would trade all that for just another twenty minutes in bed. Antalya on the other hand usually feels differently.

She is always the first one awake, and is usually forced to wait patiently in her crib until I can will myself out of bed. Her enthusiasm for another day is usually brushed off by my grogginess, and I forget how grateful I should be for another day here on this earth.

Well, this morning I couldn't miss the reminder from her to be grateful and enthusiastic about life. Antalya was up most the night with the croup. It hit around midnight. After several rounds of nasal spray and trying my best to help her out, I finally just put her in our bed hoping we could all sleep a little better there. I woke up at 7:00 and was grateful that Antalya had finally fallen into a deep sleep, and hopeful that just once she would be too tired for her internal clock to wake her up. I laid back down, with hopes of getting just another 20 minutes of sleep, but just like clock-work Antalya started to wake up.

And then she did the sweetest thing. Her breathing was still very raspy, and she had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, but instead of focusing on those things she quickly looked at me, realized she was in our bed and then reached for the curtain to pull it open. As the early morning sun went spilling across the bed she broke out in an ear-to-ear grin. It was a new day, and she was thrilled about it!

It's moments like this morning that remind me that she didn't come to our family for me to teach her, she came so that she could teach me. I feel so blessed for each day I am given to spend with my little angel!