Success~ Week 2, GBE 2

Ah, success. What a tricky little word that is, success. Here is a definition;
suc·cess  : (sk-ss)

n.

1. The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted: attributed their success in business to hard work.

2.

a. The gaining of fame or prosperity: an artist spoiled by success.

b. The extent of such gain.

3. One that is successful: The plan was a success.

4. Obsolete A result or an outcome.

  First I thought about how does one measure one's success, and how would I measure mine?
Am I where I thought I'd be at this point in my life? In all honesty, no I am not. But does that make me a failure? Not in the least. I am a better person for every road I have gone down. Hopefully every bump that I have hit helps me to be a successful parent. For the past seventeen years that has been my number one goal.
 Years ago, when my boy Nate decided it was time he flew the coop, we had a talk before he left. I had always tried to let him know, without any doubts, that I loved him just as much as his brother and sister, even though I did not give birth to him. I knew I was successful when he said to me, "I don't know where I'd be without you. You are my mom."
  Miranda shared a story with me when she came home from school one day. That morning as she passed a friend's house on the way to the bus she could hear the child's mother screaming at her friend, and thought, "How lucky am I? Every morning before I leave for school my mom tells me she loves me."
  For her to have that thought was an eye opener. It made me realize that through all of our struggles one thing remains clear, my children will never have any doubts about how much I value them.
 As some of you know, Trenton has had a very sick year. He has missed 47 days of school. In the past three weeks he has brought all of his grades up to one D and the rest are Cs or better. He only has to go to summer school for two weeks to make up some quizzes he has missed, and take one semester extra gym next year.  He has over come so much in such a short time to get where he is now. That, my friends, is a true success story. But what tickles me the most about this boy, is at least once a day he still comes up to me and says, "Hug?"
 Monetary success would be nice. So would having that Phd I dreamed of before my world came crashing down around me at 23. But since that is not my reality, I take great pleasure in all of my little successes.
 Like waking up every morning, that means I successfully made it through the night.
 Being able to still use my legs without having surgery on my back, which means I have successfully proven the orthopedic surgeon wrong for almost twenty years. I know one day I will have to have it, but that day is not today. Like I said, I take pleasure in my little successes : )
 Having my children hug me, friends who have my back, and a husband who actually likes to be around our children and me~ Well now, that sounds like a pretty good success story as far as I'm concerned.
 Being successful is not something I can own on my own. I did not get where I am by myself, and to take all of the credit for it would be shameful.
 I have been blessed by my creator, whom I refer to as  God, with wonderful parents, wonderful friends, and an amazing husband and children. I have a HUGE family that is rolled into those blessings as well.
So, while I may not be exactly where I once thought I should be at this point in my life,  where I am is a success.