I want to share something about myself tonight.  So many messages have come through to Gregory from people from all around the country that he has changed their lives and those messages have been extremely powerful for him to hear and for me to read.  I am so proud of my little 6' 3" boy for the impact he has had but I am personally grateful to him for what he has done for me.  Please allow me to share this with you.

When I took the Myers-Briggs test a few years ago it revealed that I was 78% emotional and 12% thinking...that's not a great combination to live with because my emotional side has a tendency to overpower my thinking side and it has, on occasion, gotten me into trouble.  After extensive counseling I've learned the tools to help my two sides work together to "think before I get too emotional".  During this time since Gregory was diagnosed in 2005 I've had a lot of emotion and it's been quite the trick to keep my thinking side straight...so much so that I've, at times, squelched my emotional side not allowing it to show for fear of vulnerability.  This morning as I lay in bed watching Gregory sleep I had a thought come over me that was transforming.  My son changed my way of thinking in an instant with a single thought that entered my head as I watched him breath:  I must take the moment I am in and enjoy it, savor it, regardless if it is what I want at the time because in an instant things will change my forever if I don't appreciate what I have at the moment...It doesn't matter if it's not what I want in the present....I must be patient, forgiving and happy for what I have in front of me and not look to what I don't or won't have in the future...if I do that I will ruin the present and therefore ruin what lays before me now, a gift!

Tonight I took Gregory out on the lanai (that's a southern outdoor screened-in patio to you northerners :)  We talked about exactly what I just said in the paragraph above.   I told him that he had changed me forever and I thanked him.  Gregory's response was "That makes me so happy Mom.  I really feel wonderful that my situation and my story can take so many different forms pertaining to different situations in peoples lives.  That makes me feel really good and it's amazing too."    I agreed with him.  It was very important for me to tell Gregory that he had changed my relm of thinking because he has struggled with me for many years trying to help me as I've dealt with my personal issues.   I wanted him to know that I will no longer look ahead and say "I wish" but will look in the mirror and say "What lays before me is OK and I am thankful".   I hope I gave my son the same sense of peace he gave me today knowing that I am going to be OK because I am...because of him.  Thank you Gregory.  You've inspired your stubborn Swedish Mom!  Grandpa Dick, I'm sure, is very proud of you.

Peace, Ann