{My Delayed Fairytale} Stories about life, love and Lily.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

A Perfect Symphony

My sister, Chelsey, and brother-in-law, Dale, handed out a wonderful, framed quote at Christmas for each of their families to keep in their respective homes. Chelsey and Dale found it in an old book in Dale's father's book collection. They loved the message so they passed the quote on to us as a gift. Now, I'd like to pass it on to you.

These are wonderful, wise words to live by even though they were written over 150 years ago. Yet they are still modern and the message is just as wise. They are what help me to remember that I am capable of being better.
It is titled, My Symphony and it reads:

TO LIVE content with small means;
to seek elegance rather than luxury,
and refinement rather than fashion;
to be worthy, not respectable,
and wealthy, not rich;
to listen to stars and birds, babes
and sages with open heart;
to study hard; to think quietly,
act frankly, talk gently,
await occasions, hurry never;
in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious,
grow up through the common—
this is my symphony.

—William Henry Channing

I really try not to use other's words or quotes when I am posting (except for the scriptures)mainly because there are plenty of other folks posting quotes; we get enough of that. However, these words were too profound not to share. So, I hope you don't mind one more quote. I do love to collect them, this one is a keeper. It was just too lovely.

If I ever forget the thoughts in this quote, luckily I have Lily here to remind me about living a life in perfect harmony. She is my perfect symphony. Lily and I make wonderful music together as we sing, play and learn from each other every day.

Lily on her way to school on Tuesday dressed and ready for Valentines day.

About Kym and her Lilybean:

Hi! I'm Kym and I didn't become a mother until I was 41 (and a half)! Up until that point, I worked in marketing, mainly throwing huge events for a large tech company. My job was fun! But after I got married to my husband, Martin, we had our little girl, Lily and I made the decision to stay at home with her. It was always my dream to have a child and to be a mother. I knew it was going to be hard, but I didn't know how much I would stumble, laugh, and learn along the way. It's A LOT of work! And way harder than catching a red-eye to some hot spot to throw a party.

While the doctors still have yet to figure out what Lily has, we know she has hypotonia. Hypotonia is better known as "floppy baby syndrome," meaning her muscles aren't fully developed. Hypotonia makes it hard for her to sit up, crawl, talk, and walk. In fact, she has yet to do the last three, so she is severely delayed.

I hope this blog gives you a little laughter and hope while reading the perils of a middle-aged, first-time mom struggling to raise a child with a disability. More importantly, I hope it helps you to get to know a little more about Lily, her condition, and what and how I learn from her daily. We might be moving at a slower pace than most, but this is my delayed fairytale.