Seven years ago today Chase decided to enter the world 11 1/2 weeks early!! Yes, you read that right. He was very ambitious! They tried to stop him from coming for 3 days, but on Labor Day 2008, he wasn’t going to be held back any longer.

He loves hearing the story of his birth and asks for us to tell him about it often. We told it to him again last night before he went to bed of course, since it was the last night he would be 6. All of the feelings from 7 years ago came rushing back, as they do every year. This year I have to say though, the joy and miracle of his birth and life has overshadowed the traumatic moments of that day. No, his birth was not what it was suppose to be. A LOT of mistakes were made by the Dr’s office leading up to my preterm labor, and maybe it could have all been prevented, but every time we tell the story to Chase, all of that negativity is left out of the story. We focus on how he was so eager and ready to meet his family, he decided to come early. We always tell him about what a fighter he was from day one. We tell him how he continued to fight and grow for almost two months in the hospital, then was able to come home just before what is now one of his favorite holidays, Halloween! We tell him how excited we were to strap him into his car seat for the first time, and how slow and careful his daddy drove the car home that night. I always tell him how incredibly blessed I felt to finally get to hold him all day in OUR HOME!!  I have made a conscious choice to focus on exactly that, the crazy, amazing, miracle that God gave us. That day, and all of the moments leading up to it, were God made, and it is what made this guy the special being that he is.

As a parent, we are suppose to teach our kids life lessons as they grow up so they can become strong, independent, caring, and successful adults, right? It is crazy how often I can say it is the other way around with this guy. I can honestly say he has taught me more life lessons than I could ever imagine in his short, 7 years of life.

He is the reason I can let go of the trauma and negativity that could continue to hang over the story of his birth. In honor of his 7th Birthday, I will share with you one Life Lesson By Chase:

The poor guy has had a rough year and a half. He was diagnosed with a disease that will continue to make simple, every day tasks harder for him. On top of starting Kindergarten with a new diagnosis, (not knowing how it would impact his education and keeping up with his peers in general) he ended up breaking his arm two days before school started, and had to start the school year with a full-arm cast. Nine months later, just as we were feeling like we were getting into the swing of things, he re-broke his arm and ENDED Kindergarten with a full arm cast. If anyone had a reason, or two, to complain about his life, this guy sure did!

The day after he re-broke his arm, I kept him home from school to rest. I remembered from the first time around, this was the toughest day. He was in a lot of pain and had a tough time getting used to doing things with one arm. I was really worried that the second time around he would be just miserable and it would be worse since he had to go through it all AGAIN. There were a few comments such as, “I can’t believe I did this again.” and “I never should have climbed that tree.” All to be expected because I was feeling the same way (with the mommy guilt on top of it). What I didn’t expect, was this conversation that occurred about mid-morning that day:

Chase: Hey mom.
Me: Yes honey?
Chase: I really love my life.
Me: Really?
Chase: Yeah, I have a nice family, a nice teacher, nice friends, and I choose to do the right thing.
Me: That is really great honey!

You could have knocked me over with a feather when he said this. Like I said, I completely expected this day to be the worst. I expected a lot of “why me” “why this again”, which I would have totally understood. No, my son told me, after 6 years of struggling to keep up with peers and meeting normal milestones, after a diagnosis of MD, and after two broken arms, he still sees the good and LOVES his life!!

It is so crazy how God orchestrates these events. On the day Chase re-broke his arm, we were at a church service earlier that morning all about Mom Guilt (notice the timing) and my mother-in-law told me about one of her favorite passages in the Bible, Habakkuk 3: 17-18. I had heard it before, but I can honestly say I didn’t give it much thought…….until Chase said these words to me. After he said this, and I stood there for a moment in awe of his awesomeness and the crazy timing of everything, I took out my Bible and turned to it:

“Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls –
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

Pretty much what he said! Even though he was having a really rough time and was struggling to stay afloat, he could still rejoice in what WAS good! I am so, so very thankful this little boy came into my life. I am so, so very thankful that I am sitting here today celebrating his 7th Birthday!! Chaser Boy, I love you so much and am so glad God chose me to be your Mama! It has been such a blessing to see you come so far, and I can’t wait to see what other lessons you have to teach me!