Just Today

    Is today just that; today?  Maybe for some and some days maybe for me.  How often I find myself engulfed in the "plan"...be it tomorrow's or possibly next week's.  What about today?  Will today count?  Is it possible for today to count without a master plan?  You better believe it is!  We've been blessed, yes blessed, with the ability to speak, hear, and most of all LIVE!   What better ways to bring awareness to all forms of neutropenia and any "rare" illness than the way of today?! 
    The more the world sees our lives, the more our illnesses are brought away from the darkness of ignorance.  Daily conversations, why we do what we do, and just a general openness about the things that affect our every action will change perspectives and possibly create one that wasn't there to begin with.  There was certainly a time that my diagnosis of Cyclic Neutropenia wasn't my first choice for conversation starters.  Imagine that! LOL.... I didn't want to be looked at differently or weird.  Well why not?  We are all weird on some level, even if we think we aren't.   Depends on who is being asked I suppose.  Anyway, I count it a blessing to be "weird" in a way that can contribute so much insight into a medical condition that would otherwise remain undiagnosed.
    Often I find myself diving head first into otherwise difficult conversations with parents about the health of our children.  My favorite is when I get the horrifying looks in response to my Cyclic Neutropenia explanation in regard to Mileigh.  Today, due to her outward appearance,  it never crossed their minds that my girl might have to fight harder than theirs. Today maybe they considered "healthy" the norm and never gave it a second thought.  Maybe, just maybe, tomorrow they'll think differently thanks to my today. 
   My hope is to teach my girls to live each day deliberately.  You all know the cliche' "we aren't promised tomorrow"... but it's oh so true and I know all too well.  How often do we sit quietly in the midst of a situation when what we know and live would possibly make a difference?  At the end of the day it's about people and it's about today.  Personally, I'm thankful for our Neutropenia.  I'm thankful for our "rare" illness that's paved the way for Joeli's Song.  Would I trade all of this to have my Joeli back?  In a heartbeat!  That little girl was my everything, so today I hope she has smiled in regard to the difference her story is making.  I'm thankful to have formed life long friends who happen to be some of the most amazing folks I've ever met.  I'm thankful to have been given the opportunity to be "Mama" to a little girl who means so much to so many.  I'm honored to have been given today!