The Lottery of Life...

Today was “one of those days”, as the saying goes. I’ve most certainly had better. Just dealing with some unpleasant issues on the job…changes and challenges involved with our institutional shift. Before I headed home, I summed up my day by changing my Facebook status to “Kelly has yet to win the lottery…” My friend Wyanne must have been online right at that moment because she immediately commented, “You already won the lottery of life…” Thank you, my dear friend. I needed that little reminder.

When I got home, Wyanne’s wonderful Universe backed up her comment. The minute I walked in the door, Livvie was sitting on the couch and said, “Mama, where’s your new charm?” This morning I pulled my new anniversary charm out of its pretty little heart-shaped box and showed it to her before I placed the charm and my bracelet in my purse to get it soldered today. It was that very box she was holding, and she asked me if she could have it. “Look inside!” she said, “Sarah gave me a present!” Inside were a few coins and a heart-shaped bead, so I told her how nice that was of Sarah and that, yes, certainly she could have the box. She gave me a big Livvie hug like only little Livvie can do.

Then Sarah whispered at me from the stairs and asked me to come up stairs. She grabbed my hand and walked me into the guest room (where we keep all the wrapping supplies) and, still whispering, said, “Shhh….I’m wrapping more presents for Livvie.” On the floor were the shoe boxes from their new shoes Granddad bought them this weekend. Inside one shoe box were a Barbie and a few pieces of paper she had colored; inside the other were a sweater and her ladybug backpack. Yet still whispering, she asked me to help her wrap them. “But I need some tape and scissors. Can you find me some?” I told her I’d run downstairs and get her some and she said, “Okay, but come right back and don’t tell Livvie.” When I came back up with the tape and scissors, she started trying to wrap the boxes, then looked to me for help when she struggled. “Mama, I want to put one of those sparkly bows on each one, but I can’t open the box [they are stored in]. Can you help me?” I helped her open the box and she picked out two bows, one sparkly red and one sparkly green, and taped them to the presents.

She wanted to put the presents in a gift bag so we walked over to the closet to pick one out. Now, this closet is the very closet in which I stored Bunny C. I’ve told you about Bunny and Sister Bunny, so Bunny C is the third backup I found and stored away, only to be found by Sarah when I wasn’t looking. She named this one Fluffy because, being brand new, obviously she was rather fluffy! And at the moment, Fluffy was not in her special place in the special closet. “Sarah, did you take Fluffy out again?” I previously told her that Fluffy really wanted to live there until she really, really needed her, like when, *gasp*, Bunny and Sister Bunny both got lost or got so threadbare she couldn’t carry them around anymore. “Yes, Mama,” still whispering. “Well, do you know where she is?” “Um, no, Mama, I really can’t remember right now [trying to distract me]…I think Livvie would like this bag,” she said as she picked out a big blue one with snowflakes. Then she put the presents in the bag and took them down to Livvie, who happily opened them up and, snuggling up to her sister, asked Sarah if she wanted to watch Hannah Montana with her.

Thank you, Lord, for bringing me another one of life’s little moments to keep me on the right path and remind me that I have, in fact, won the lottery of life.