Things we take for granted....

I always try to have an 'attitude of gratitude'... but that doesn't mean that I always do! But tonight has me thinking how I take so much for granted. Like electricity. Yes, I know that it is great and wonderful modern technology and that it hasn't been all that long ago that people just didn't have it. But it has always been a part of my life and the only time I give it a second thought is when I get the bill, or express my displeasure when it goes off. We usually have a few power bumps in the winter. It's not so horrible now that we have our wood stove because the house stays warm and it usually only means that I will have 4 or 5 kids in my bed instead of the 1 or 2 that find their way there in the middle of the night. But tonight the power keeps bumping. The wind has been blowing all day and now it sounds like it is blowing in a storm. And the power keeps trying to go off. And tonight, the alarm on Nathaniel's oxygen tank starts bleeping and it hit me... this is no longer a luxery, this is a life sustaining necessity that I need for my son. Yes, we have a back up tank and it is right next to him, ready in case we need to change. The feeding machine has back up batteries and so does the oxygen monitor. But it hit me with such force tonight that I take things for granted that have always been in my life. Yet this one thing, electricty, is what keeps the machines going that sustain my son's life right now. And I am a little afraid. Yes, the batteries will keep going, and I can switch the oxygen, but I am still scared. What if something happens? The other night he was on the tank and he had some serious apnea episodes. It was the most frightening thing to hear my child's heart stop beating, if only for a second. That is a roller coaster ride that I never want to go on again. So tonight, I will pray that the power stays on, even though I am prepared with a back up plan. I will try to be more grateful for the world that we live in today. When I can flip a switch and have light. When I can hear the hum of the oxygen tank and know that it is giving breath to my baby. We have so much. I was thinking that had Nate been born several years ago he would not have the modern medicine that was able to save his life. I wonder how many mothers lost children to something so unexplainable as severe reflux and apnea? We have so much. We are so blessed. We have been given more than we could ever comprehend.