Be Bold, The World Is Waiting

Next month marks 20 years since my kidney transplant. Twenty years. Twenty years. I have a hard time believing it, even though I've lived every minute of it. An eerie aspect of it all is that when I look back on those days, and particularly the night before the big operation...I didn't feel a mere 11 years old at the time. I felt so much older. I remember being the most worried about my sister (who was 4 years old then) and my mom (who was the donor). I remember the final 19 vials of blood they lost, yup lost somewhere in the hospital, the night before everything was to take place. My sweet as candy transplant coordinator came into my room, sat on my bed and delivered the news. It came down to drawing more blood to re-run the last minute tissue typing, or rescheduling the surgery I had been anticipating my whole existence. My tween heart was devastated. My redheaded temper was furious. My core simply wanted another chance at life, without having to give up 38 vials of blood the night before. ;)

In the cystinosis community many of my friends have had kidney transplants. It is quite close to being the norm. I only know of a few of those kidneys which have lasted longer than 15 years. It happens, but it isn't expected or even the average. There are so many variables that affect the life of a transplanted kidney, many of which are unknown. Such a weird balance of what ifs and loops in the road to get to here, to today. I have a theory my pregnancy actually benefitted my kidney when all was said and done. And I was extra lucky because I was off all anti-rejection medication before I found out little Miss S was growing in there.

I'm planning some wonderful things for the week of October 18th as a way to celebrate. Perhaps a special tee, maybe an instagram loop giveaway with fabulous goodies, and possibly lots of random acts of kindness. Because I want everyone to have some fun sharing this milestone with me! Can't wait to share more details!

Stress About The Beautiful

I had a thought a few days ago. Wouldn't it be marvelous if we all started stressing about all the beautiful things? Instead of whining about them? This (not so) revolutionary thought occurred to me several days ago when I was getting my panties in a twist (yup, happens to the best of us!) over all the tasks I need to accomplish and cross off my "list". When really, all I wanted to do was drop everything and build lego castles and construct curving train tracks with our girl all the live long day. We do plenty of that too, because I'm a firm believer in the power of playing with your kids, but on this particular day  the tasks that needed to be finished far outweighed my energy and resources. Which....newsflash, is life as an adult, and a mom. I know that.

However, I decided to turn my thoughts around. There were so many beautiful things to stress over. We have a house to live in, sure it needs to be cleaned and I'm constantly picking up. But we have a house of our own. I was battling with my insurance company to cover my $800 a week eye drops that prevent blindness due to the cystine crystals that build up in my eyes. Yes, the process was annoying and stressful and time consuming. I'm still working on getting the details smoothed over and everything figured out, but goodness, there is a medication to help obstacles I have, and that? That is pretty freaking fabulous. A beautiful thing to stress about. I want to stress more about the beautiful. Sookie is a busy busy bee these days and I'm astonished at her curiosity and boundless passion for learning and moving and growing and changing. The beautiful thing to stress about? She's healthy, she's happy, she's thriving. Girl is gold.

I want to stress more about the beautiful. How about you?

Gummy Bear Limeade Popsicles

Last year in the summer we discovered how much fun it can be to make your own popsicles. Frequently I tossed spinach into berry smoothie mixtures and our girl was happy with the mixture. I know we are on the verge of fall, but we are hanging on to every last bit of summer around here. These yummy frozen treats are definitely helping!

You'll need:

Popsicle molds
Limeade
Gummy Bears

See? You don't even need to call this a recipe. It is so incredibly simple. Throw some of your favorite brand of gummy bears into the bottom (or top, depending how you look at it) and pour some limeade on top. Ridiculously easy, right? We like Newman's Own All Natural Limeade around here.

Make some of these, throw on your favorite summer skirt, toss your hair up in a messy top knot and soak up summer 2014's last rays. Go ahead. We dare you.

1 // About The Author

Ah, September. I think I'll get lost in you this year.

I'm taking on the Blog-tember Challenge hosted by Brave Love blog. The first prompt for today is to write an about the author page and tell a bit about your imaginary novel.

Here goes...

Bluebird Pictures

I went through a Garth Brooks and Michael Bolton phase when I was 10 years old. I had a kidney transplant when I was 11. My mother gave me life for a second time. She's my guardian angel here on earth. My life has been filled with an abundance of love and light, as well as tragedy. I believe bravery is hidden in the good moments. Courage finds you when you have the balls to go after it.

I believe in the healing power of music, words, and gratitude. Once upon a time I wasn't supposed to live past my 10th birthday, and then poof...I turned 31 a few weeks ago. I'm living out my wildest dreams with a good man and our odd defying daughter. I like whimsy and color and noise.

My imaginary novel? Oh, I have several ideas. One that would be fun to see through to its completion would be about someone who meets their real life imaginary friend when they are 50. I heard it on Before Midnight and have been happily haunted by the notion ever since.