How a little bit of light can change everything!

So after weeks of bitter cold and gray skies, yesterday we finally saw the sun...and not just for a minute or two, but for the WHOLE day! Not only that, but the temperature actually reached a balmy 40 degrees! In the matter of one day, I have seen and felt a shift in the atmosphere. People are holding their heads high, smiling, joking, laughing. All it took was a slight break from the dreary Michigan weather, and people started acting like spring was around the corner...you know that light-heated, happy feeling that you get when the flowers start to bloom? Well, no flowers here, and we're expecting only 16 degrees for the high on Wednesday, but this short-lived break from the sub-human standards of cold and gloom has allowed many of us to start the week on an up-beat note! That said, I wanted to do an entry today about another bright aspect of my life...my son, Najib.

Najib gave me a great present yesterday. In addition to having a "good" day without a lot of pain and struggle, he gave me something that I think the sunshine brought about as well. (The light affects everyone's disposition!). Najib actually hugged me yesterday...not accidentally either. It was a true, purposeful hug around my neck-- a sign of affection that has left me glowing from the inside out. You see, when you have a child with special needs, few are the moments of real connection, deep understanding, and that certain notion of complicity, but yesterday all of those things came in the form of a hug--a hug...so simple a gesture...so profound the effects!

I am currently in the midst of planning a number of fundraisers for my son. We are taking a trip to China this summer to get him 5 stem cell transplants in the hopes of improving his quality of life. Although very excited and anxious for the trip, I have been a bit tentative lately about the risks and idea of subjecting my son to aggressive procedures. But after that hug, after feeling his arms reach around me to demonstrate his affection, I must say that my anxiety began to melt away! The possibility of these injections working and giving him the ability to be more purposeful in all he does just overwhelms me with hope.

Many people raise one eyebrow when I tell them what we are planning..."China?" they ask..."stem cells...does that procedure kill babies?" they think, but I simply tell them that when someone offers you hope to help your child, there is no limit for your actions. Yes, China. It is far away; we don't speak the language; the country has a bevy of challenges; yet it also has amazing resources and some of the best, cutting-edge medicine around! And no, these stem cells do NOT kill babies. They are taken from umbilical cords at birth, donated to science to help doctors and researchers help others....something that in this country is experimental...controversial...and deemed "unethical" by many! (go to http://www.stemcellschina.com/ for more information about the REAL story and many miracles underway in CHINA)

So, off we go this summer to China, with lots of excitement, some level of anxiety, but most importantly, with boundless amounts hope that our son, our ray of sunshine, can live a full, long, meaningful life.

Yes, we can...

It's not that he's black....it's not that he embodies all I believe in...it's that his election by such a large majority...by such overwhelming diversity...white, black, Latino, young, old, gay, straight...gives me hope that this country is finally turning a corner! It's not going to change over night...it's not going to all of a sudden create a harmonious dwelling, but in some way, (even if all of this reflects a plan designed by an elite group to use his figure as a means to control the masses), people now have taken their political voice seriously! I saw children at the polls...my 4 year old voted in school....there were lines that wrapped around buildings....I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE!

People have been engaged in political discourse....in some degree the American consciousness has been awakened...no longer are people feeling comfortable with being complacent...and that, if nothing else, gives me HOPE! No matter who had been victorious, we witnessed this population speaking with its vote....that is why I believe WE CAN....

Obama mobilized YOUNG people and engaged them in a way that has created a new movement in America....sometimes it's unsettling...a bit cult like...but that blind devotion to a cause that supports diversity and social consciousness is not all bad! Let's put out in the universe the greatness that can come from these results...let's leave behind our cynicism and feelings of despair...let's try and generate feelings of hope and renewed spirit! I always tell people that we get what we put out there....no more apparent than last night! This country, especially the YOUTH, put out feelings of hope, change and optimism...let's give that a chance! Let's not be the voice of negativity...the ones that only anticipate strife and social unrest due to these election results!
I admit...I am usually a conspiracy theorist...one that never takes things for face value...but how much of what happens is a direct result of the negative thoughts generated by people like me? I am going to purposefully try to believe in the positives that this change will bring...for our country...for future generations...for our reputation on the world scene.....
Do you realize the message sent last night? America from many perspectives outside of this country has been viewed for over 30 years as a place full of complacent citizens that take no interest in politics...even Clinton did not win with sweeping majorities.....As a country we spoke very clearly last night to the world audience...we DO care...we DO participate...we DO have intelligent citizens in this country....we CAN become real stakeholders in the realities of this WORLD...we have regained dignity and respect in the eyes of many, and that is undeniably POSITIVE!
OK, Obama...let's get to work!