Monday, May 5, 2008

Something different

I haven’t been able to update my blog lately. Partly because the kids are so active now and want my attention all the time. They can get into mischievous situations but are so proud of themselves, you can’t but help laugh. Mostly I haven’t been able to update because our computer is running so slow because of all the darn pictures I have stored on the hard drive. Either the computer crashes or freezes up all the time, so it’s been frustrating to get on here. Mike is convincing me to move all our photos onto the external hard drive he bought, but I’m so scared of losing all the precious pics. We’re doing it little by little and I’m archiving pre-baby pics first. Once I feel more comfortable, I may move the baby pics over too. I know chances are just as likely to lose the pics while they’re on the computer but didn’t you also know I’m stubborn and set in my ways?

In the meantime, I thought I’d take the time and write something instead. One of the twin moms from my multiples group forwarded this blog. It’s so tragic, I think about them often.

It’s written by a guy who just had a baby girl. His wife had just given birth and 27 hours later was on her way to see and hold her baby for the very first time. On the way, she passed out and never regained consciousness. She died of a pulmonary embolism. They were both so excited about their baby and she never even got to hold her. It is so moving and the father/husband writes about it with such grace and eloquence.

There are so many tragedies in the world. Unfortunately, we’ve had our own share and so have my parents. My parents and I didn’t get along when I was younger because we couldn’t relate to each other. Now that I’m an adult, I can fully appreciate they did the best they could and more. If I tried to go to my mom during my teen angst years, she wasn’t sympathetic and would say I had the problems of a ‘rich person’. Of course I resented it at the time, but can you blame her? She was born in North Korea grew up during the Korean War. Her father and older brother were kidnapped and most likely executed for defying the communistic government. Her mother packed up 4 children, an infant and some of their belongings and made the trek from North Korea to South Korea on foot. Along the way they witnessed the horrors of war, my mom was just a child but the visuals are still with her. Even after settling in South Korea, my mom’s mom passed away. My mom was an orphan at 12 years old.

So when she said I had the problems of a rich person because I couldn’t get a boy to notice me or I wanted a pair of Jordache jeans badly, she was right. She fought to stay alive, find food for herself and her siblings and was without parents at a young age. She’s also said outliving your child is the worst thing for a person to go through.

There’s a lot of tragedy in the world and I’m sorry we have to go through the pain. Still we persevere and eventually find beauty and happiness. It brings me such joy to see what my kids and my sister’s kids do for my parents. My own kids have also saved me. I can’t imagine what Matt Logelin is going through, but he seems to have his act together as best as could be expected. His daughter is beautiful and it sounds like he’s surrounded by lots of friends and family. His blog has touched so many people, including me. It’s brought so much compassion, empathy and warmth, it really is beautiful.

8 comments:

Kj said...

thank you for this post. it was so sad, beautiful and honest.

love your and yours more than words can say.

Tonya Staab said...

I read almost that entire blog a couple of days ago, so totally heartbreaking. I love that he's so honest and open about his feelings though.

Christy said...

Ya I cried so much when I read that blog. He really did touch my heart. I can't believe everything your family went through. Your mom must be a very strong woman.

Jenn H said...

I cried reading his blog as well. It really puts a lot of things in perspective, as does hearing about people like your mom!

Alisha said...

I read his updates everyday! If I was him I would be curled up in a ball bawling my eyes out. But he is right when he says that whenever he feels like he is about to break down, Maddy cried and he not only has to stay strong for himself, but for her as well. He is, and will make a wonderful father. The story of your mothers is also very tragic. It is stories like these that put our minor "rich" problems in perspective.

Jane said...

this was a lovely post, lisa.

debi9kids said...

Thanks for sharing this Lisa. How sad. :(
Thank you also for sharing about your mom. So honest & open.

I have missed you & think about you often!

Tamara Mitchell said...

Lisa, I also read that blog from the yahoo post. What a horrific story. I actually go on his site every couple of days. It's amazing how many strangers have come along side of him. I would love to just give him a hug and baby Madaline a little kiss. Thanks for your honesty too! I miss you all.