“Let’s pretend like we are going back to bed”, he said.  He laid down and closed his eyes.  After a few seconds of silence…*SNORT*!  His eyes were full of life and happiness, his smile was big and wide and his laughter was loud and strong.  He was totally in the moment. Nothing else in the whole world mattered except that moment lying in the bed with his Aunt’s arms wrapped around him and silliness filling the air. “You do it!”, he said.  *SNORT*  Over and over again he pretended to be asleep and then…*SNORT*.

Although I had spent hours the night before laughing with my sister, there was something about his laughter that reminded me of my blessings.  There was something in that occasion that caused time to stop and I remembered…

I had spent so much time trying to figure out how to be ‘normal’ again; how to function daily without the grief of what happened and the anxiety it could happen again, that I didn’t realize that I had lost my sense of gratitude and blessing for the miracle of life God had so freely given to me.

And in that moment, with my arms wrapped tightly around my nephew, I remembered.  This was what I had prayed for, this was the manifestation of God’s blessings…little glimpses in time of joy and happiness with people I love.

Although he does not understand the circumstances of the past year or the significance of our time together, I pray one day he will find himself in a moment in time and remember…*SNORT*!

My nieces and nephew