Dumas 4: DO WE HAVE TO KEEP OUR PROMISE?

Dumas 4

Before we are moms, we are women. Before we are women, we are girls. Before we are girls we are children. Few things have stayed constant in my life through all of these stages. My family, my faith and the desire to be a mother. I loved baby dolls as a child. I would enter a world where I was in control of those around me and they had to do what I told them. I foolishly thought that would happen when I became a mother. When I was a girl, I decided I would have 3 children. Two girls and a boy, just as my mother had. I foolishly thought that I got to decide these things when I became a mother. When I became a woman, I decided I would also have a wonderful career alongside these 3 perfect children. I foolishly thought I could do it all. As I lay here in bed recovering from a very simple surgery that had lasting effects on my ability to have more children, there is a photo in my direct line of sight. Its a black and white photo that I cherish. It is from a vacation we took before Emma was even 1 year old. We went to Colorado for a week in the summer to escape the heat of Texas, and the busyness of life. On our way home we stopped in Dumas, TX for a picture. There are not that many people who have the honor of having a last name like Dumas. It is often mispronounced, I'm sure my husband was teased terribly as a child, and I'm certain my daughters will hate it when they hit the 'tween years. But I married into this name. It came with the man I love so I like it. Just before you get to Dumas, Texas, there is a sign that reads "Dumas 4" indicating that you are just 4 miles from the thriving metropolis of Dumas, Texas (population 13,747, a quarter the size of the college I went to). I made my husband and my two daughters (and even my cousin Caitlin who came with us on this trip) get out and take a picture with this sign. At the last second, as the baby was crying and the toddler was whining, I just looked up and snapped one last photo of this sign. I eventually had a black and white made of it and I've always loved it but the "4" part of "Dumas 4" never meant much to me. I always planned that our family would be a family of 5 eventually. Today though, it reminds me that when I snapped that photo, on the side of the highway, in 100 degree heat, God knew I would need a sign. Dumas 4. It is, and always was, His plan for my life. I'm thankful for my sign. I needed a sign. I'd like to have that sign. I wonder what the fine is for stealing a sign that reads "Dumas 4." It might be worth it.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

DO WE HAVE TO KEEP OUR PROMISE?

Of course when a child is going through something as horrible as resetting a broken bone, a parent promises to make it better. The doctor assured us that Brooke would not remember a thing from the "procedure." As they were putting an IV in her arm, she was upset and crying. She looked at us and said, "I want a puppy." John said, "Done. We'll get a puppy." The doctor looked at me and said, "Its ok, she won't remember." She did though. From the moment her eyes opened after they were done she reminded us that she was getting a puppy! John kept saying, "No, that was the medicine making you THINK we said that!" She just said, "Nope, you said it. I remember." So on Sunday we fulfilled our promise. Anything to make her feel better and lift her spirits. Her name is Sally. She's a hybrid (fancy name for mutt). She's half Pug, half Bassett Hound, a Pugett. She's adorable and she makes Brooke happy. She's very high maintenance so I hope it was worth it!