gratitude

We've spent the last few days in Florida, slowly unwinding after all the recent difficulties. The slow pace, surrounded by family and familiar sights is a comforting thing. Max is back to his old self, healthy appetite and rambunctious spirit included! In the picture above, he's playing near a tide pool, with his big sister Azalea and the rest of the gang in the background, swimming.

I thought this particular shot captured how peaceful and magical our little spot is. I've relished watching Max recover from such a scary state, everyday gaining strength. When we first left the hospital, he couldn't walk, or even hold his head up. The physical therapist warned us it could be a month or more before he would be back to his old self. We are happy, no thrilled to say our little boy is back to normal!

We will spend a couple more days in Florida, relaxing and feeling truly grateful that our little family is happy and healthy. It boggles my mind how quickly everything progressed, from thinking he had stomach flu, to realizing he had perforations in his intestines from swallowing a set of 'mighty strong' magnets (not a pearl after all!). Those tiny things nearly killed him (so of course we threw out every last one of them). Things will shift back into place, our routines and rhythms will continue and I will look on my boy with gratitude and happiness.