Part of a conversation with my seven year old last night...
Me: How was school today?
AJ: Ummm, it was not so good, I guess.
Me: Why? What happened?
AJ: I didn't get any exercise in gym class. We just had to watch a video and listen to (the gym teacher) talk.
Me: What video was it?
AJ: Some company is raising money to give to hospitals, and they want us to jump rope.
Me: Ohhhh (Moment of understanding - AJ brought home a "save the date" card last week, announcing that the school was participating in the Heart Association's Jump Rope for Heart.) So what was the video about?
AJ: It said the prizes we could win, and it was about a girl who had a hole in her heart.
Me: So do you want to do it?
AJ: I could give them $5 and then I'd get a water bottle.
Me: So you want to do it?
AJ: Nah. I'd pretty much just rather give them money and get a water bottle. I'm not too good at jump ropes.
Having volunteered with the local Heart Association for a number of years and taking part in the annual Heart Walk several times, I wasn't willing to let the conversation end so quickly.
Me: Did you know that when I was born I had a heart defect?
AJ: You did?
Me: It turned out to not be a big problem. It fixed itself. But Grandma still calls me her miracle baby because they didn't think I was going to live.
AJ: What was wrong with it?
Me: Have you learned much about the heart yet? How it has four sections and the blood pumps through it?
AJ: Yeah, we learned that today.
Me: Well, the area between two of the sections of my heart wasn't working right. But Grandma and Grandpa and a lot of other people did a lot of praying, and God made it start working.
AJ: Wow. If I'd been alive back then I would have prayed for you, too.
This child has such a big heart. Maybe next year he'll have the coordination to go with, and then we'll consider again jumping rope. I'm not going to push him to jump rope if he doesn't want to do it. I can make a donation through other means. And we really don't need another water bottle.
Yeah. Okay, okay. You brought tears to my eyes, as usual, when I think of those days 42 years ago. I don't think I'll ever be able to have dry eyes as I relive those days in the hospital. Our miracle baby? Yah, you betcha.
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