Playing On Borrowed Time

It's a quiet late Tuesday night, all the rest of the family is in bed fast asleep, and I'm plopped in front of the computer, letting my thoughts go where they may as I pluck out random thoughts on the keyboard. My daughter Madeline's 8th birthday is rapidly approaching; one I feared I'd never see. Since she was born with a potentially fatal set of heart defects and required open heart surgeries when she was a mere three months old, I never counted on her being around for as long as she's been here. The doctors always placated us with the various well-meaning platitudes about her chances, but we were leery of counting on the positive side of all the predictions. Because, basically...we didn't want to have to deal the real possibility of burying our infant daughter and answering all the questions that would inevitably follow. And, having the medical background as paramedics, we both knew the real story that we were facing. But, in spite of all the dire predictions books and medicos laid out for us, Madeline has beat all the odds and flourished beyond all the predictions given to us. One of the high points in my life was dancing with her last year in the "Daddy/Daughter Dance" at her dance school annual recital. The song we used in the performance was Steven Curtis Chapman's song 'Cinderella'. To sit and listen to the lyrics is very moving, and to know he wrote the song for his daughter who was tragically killed in a terrible accident makes it all that much more poignant. I cannot even begin to fathom the heartbreak he experienced going through that ordeal, especially since my daughter has survived her heart issues and continues to thrive. But...c'mon...I'm a realist. There is always looming over us the possibility Madeline may need more surgeries, and the chance she might just pass on from an unexpected cardiac event looms ever present. So we live for each and every moment with her, and cherish the time we have. I have already begun rehearsals for the next Daddy Daughter Dance, and we'll be dancing to Bob Carlisle's "Butterfly Kisses". I will continue to hug and kiss her every chance I get, and revel in the laughter and giggles she gives us...and be thankful for each and every moment I'm given with her. I can truly say I know exactly what unconditional love is. Nothing else in the world matters.

Peace...