Scenes From the Morning After a Restless Night: I Heart Monkey

Mommy (6:30am, sitting on Samantha's bed, trying to get her snotty - as in snot - child motivated to get ready for school):  "Happy Valentine's Day, baby."

Samantha (nose still slightly crusted with dried blood after a late-night nosebleed):  "Happy Valentimes Day, Mommy!"

Mommy (pointing to the pink sock monkey clutched tightly in Sammi's hands that she and Daddy had just given her):  "What do you want to name the monkey?"

Sammi:  "Alex."

Mommy:  "Alex?  Okay."

Sammi (apparently changing her mind on the fly):  "Nate."

Mommy (realizing that the pink monkey may be destined to have a boy's name):  "Nate?  That's a boy's name, honey.  Can you think of a girl's name?"

Sammi (apparently not quite getting the hint):  "Colin."

Mommy (still trying to make her point):  "Come on, think of something other than a boy's name."

Sammi:  "Hmmm...let me see...Monkey!"

Sounds good to me. 

I'm particularly enamored of this little pink monkey, not only for its connection to Valentine's Day and the fact that it marks the first time Sammi has received a gift on Valentine's Day and certainly not the last.  I'm loving this monkey because of the lovely stitched heart on its chest, more symbolic of the prevalence of CHD, congenital heart defects, in children, such as Samantha herself. 

Today is the last day of CHD Awareness Week.  It's like having a 2nd Heart Day, in that it makes me stop and reflect on how fortunate we are to live in this time, a time that allows my child to have life.  How fortunate we are that a brilliant surgeon was able to hold my girl's heart in his hands and mend it, good as new.  "A 99 year repair!" Samantha's local cardiologist says.  We love him.  If I'd thought about it ahead of time, I'd have sent him a card to mark this week.  

Right now Samantha has a cold.  While the nights are a little rough, she jumps right back into the swing of things as soon as (okay, sooner than) the sun comes up, chapstick on her lips, tissues stuffed into her pockets, and a smile and energy that put me to shame when I've got a cold.  I'll take a cold any day over what so many other children have to endure.  Happy 2nd Heart Day to so many of your kiddos out there, and Happy Valentime's Day to everyone.   :-)