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July 5, 2010
Missing Teeth and More Milestones
Zack lost his first and second
teeth six days apart in June. He’s been in heaven—sipping drinks through a straw nestled in the gap, smiling and
making tough-guy faces in the mirror, tucking envelopes under his pillow, and plotting to re-use teeth in hopes of tricking
the Tooth Fairy.
And every time I catch a glimpse of that gap-toothed grin, I can’t help but breathe
a small “thank you” for the good fortune that has enabled me to experience this and many other milestones in my
children’s lives.
This year alone we’ve celebrated:
A kindergarten graduation.
A first girlfriend.
A straight-A report card.
A Pony League baseball champion. A non-reader converting to a bookworm. (Thank you, J.K. Rowling!) A Cubs fan converting to the Cardinals! (Okay, not everyone here celebrated that—sorry, Jim.)
Every milestone—big
and small—is treasured all the more simply because I shouldn’t be here, and I know it. As I watched a video clip of Lou Gehrig’s “Luckiest
Man” speech on the 71st anniversary of Gehrig’s farewell to baseball yesterday, I couldn’t help
but think of all the men and women who have not been as fortunate as I’ve been. How many have followed Gehrig’s tragic path in those 71 years?
I’m heartbroken for
all the people who, like Gehrig, succumbed far too soon despite valiant fights against a cruel killer. I’m heartbroken
for their families, who face milestones like “first Father’s Day without my dad” and “my mom’s
first birthday since she died” and “first Christmas without my husband.” (Or “brother” or “sister”
or “wife” or “child” or... Sadly, there are simply too many possibilities to list them
all.)
How many more must lose their battles before we finally win this war? There are no ALS survivors.
No one diagnosed with ALS can be treated and live ALS-free. How can this not have changed in seven decades???
My frustration is
palpable, even as my gratitude overwhelms me...
1:44 am cdt
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Welcome to Aimee's Blah, Blah, Blog... With great trepidation, we introduce the latest feature on askaboutaimee.com:
a blog.
We acknowledge the pathetically long gaps between new entries to the website, and we appreciate the gentle
prodding from visitors who would like to see more frequent updates about what's keeping us busy.
So, in an attempt to dispel the notion that Aimee lounges at home all day in her World Series Champions gear (okay, that
part is true) with her feet up (never!), eating bon-bons (often) and catching up on the latest trade rumors and
spring-training reports—while Jim is out
saving the world in his S-emblazoned red cape, of course—we
are experimenting with a blog to provide (weekly? biweekly? monthly?) updates on our activities.
However, come Opening Day,
we're not promising anything...
[Note: Aimee is the author of the blog. All first-person accounts are hers
unless otherwise noted. Any pro-Cubs entries are obviously the unauthorized work of Jim and should be reported to the proper
authorities immediately.]
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