Lucky

Once again, I am one of the luckiest girls on the planet. This past week a very strong storm (on it's way to becoming a hurricane) hit St Lucia. Winds tore through the small island causing all sorts of havoc.

I am both grateful and lucky that we went on our honeymoon during June instead of now. I was able to have an amazing honeymoon that was barely marred by rain, no less winds. For that, I will be forever grateful. And I feel sad for those people who have not gotten such a good experience due to the forces of nature. And even more so, for the wonderful people who work and live on the island who treated me & Roy with such grace and courtesy.

I have had quite a charmed life. No, I'm not the daughter of a millionaire nor have I become famous for something. I am not a girl genius (in terms of intellect) nor did I have the talent to become a great athlete. But I have survived quite a few experiences that could have gone very, very wrong...and I was born into a good life with wonderful (albeit flawed human) parents.

My first test in life was at birth. My mom had an extended contraction which cut off all the air supply to me for at least 15 minutes. I was born with an Apgar scale number of one Let me break this down for you:

Here's how they're used to rate your baby:
Activity (muscle tone) 0 — Limp; no movement...1 — Some flexion of arms and legs...2
— Active motion
Pulse (heart rate) 0 — No heart rate...1 — Fewer than 100 beats per minute...2 — At least 100 beats per minute
Grimace (reflex response) 0 — No response to airways being suctioned...1 — Grimace during suctioning...2 — Grimace and pull away, cough, or sneeze during suctioning
Appearance (color) 0 — The baby's whole body is completely bluish-gray or pale...1 — Good color in body with bluish hands or feet....2 — Good color all over
Respiration (breathing) 0 — Not breathing...1 — Weak cry; may sound like whimpering, slow or irregular breathing...2 — Good, strong cry; normal rate and effort of breathing

So, yeah, I was born completely limp, like a rag doll, had no airway response, had a very light pulse, was completely blue and wasn't breathing. It was NOT a happy day for the parents. But I both survived it and, after one year, they discovered that I was not brain damaged (no matter what my brother says!). The only legacy to this experience is a difficulty in short term memory at times. Not bad and makes me VERY lucky.

Another example I can give was when I was 12. I was riding a bike and my brakes failed. I hit a 3 foot high wall and fell about 15 feet down into a stream. My face was inches from a huge rock and I only ended up with a hole below my lower lip, needing a fake front tooth and a broken arm. How lucky is that?

So, yeah...I have to say that I have been a fortunate girl. When I was younger, I always wondered if I was alive to do something special. If surviving these accidents was a way of keeping me around for a purpose. I used to pray that I would live at least to 30 (yes, I did at one time think that was OLD). I no longer feel that way. I don't think I have a 'job' to fulfill. Or that I was destined to do something important. I just feel lucky. Plain, old, lucky.