It's not fair!!!

How many times do we hear this from our kids? If you're anything like me, it's ALL THE TIME. A has my favorite truck, IT'S NOT FAIR! C got the last applesauce, IT'S NOT FAIR! Etc, etc, etc. Lately, though, it's me that wants to scream that it's not fair. Sometimes life just seems unfair.

Recently I came across the story of Stellan and his wonderful family. What a sweet baby boy who has had and continues to have to face so much in his short life. I won't even begin to try to tell his story, his mother does that more beautifully than I ever could. If you get a chance, check out her blog. Stellan and his family have been on my mind non-stop these last few weeks. At any rate, it's not fair. It's not fair that his mother has to watch her precious boy suffer, or that his siblings have to know sickness at such an early age, it's just not fair.

Then there's my friend, a bright, beautiful, sweet woman who deserves nothing more than to find her happily ever after. Unfortunately, the one most of us thought would be prince charming turned out to be just another frog. There's no doubt that the prince is really out there, just waiting to find her, but it's not fair that she has to wait, and it's not fair that she has to hurt.

There's also a woman at work who wants nothing more than to be appreciated. She does her job, and the job of several other people. She's often not rewarded. It would take nothing more than a pat on the back, a good job, or a "you're appreciated" to make her day. Sadly, the people that she works for haven't thought to say that yet. Hopefully they will. It's not fair that she hasn't heard it.

My husband works in the child welfare field. The things he sees on a daily basis that horrify me, and I only know a smidgen of what he sees. It is beyond me that there are parents out there that do not look at their children with absolute wonder and delight. I cannot imagine that there are people that do not cherish their children. I cannot even fathom how child abuse occurs. Yet it does. It's not fair that there are abused children and that there are so many wonderful people who would make amazing parents but cannot have children. It's not fair.

I think that I just needed to get that out. Now, feel free to all tell me that "Life isn't fair." I know, my mother told me that the first time I complained that my brother got to go to the zoo with a friend and I couldn't go (I ran away. Not far, since I wasn't allowed to cross the street).

So, today, I'm going to hug my kids extra tight, try not to get too irritated when C throws a tantrum because he can't watch another cartoon or when A sticks his tongue out at me when I tell him no, I'm going to kiss my husband and make sure he knows that I appreciate him and all he does, I'm going to take a minute to smell the sweet smell of freshly washed baby hair, and I'm going to thank the people that I work with that make my life easier. Somehow that just might make everything a little more fair.