Hide And Seek

When Riley was little- or shall I say littler, my sister "Sa" started teasing her that she would never be able to play hide and seek. The girl breathes SO loud that hiding would be impossible. But it's not the little girls fault. This is Riley were talking about so of course she has a rare diagnosis of Laryngalmalacia. Basically she has extra skin and some cartilage around her vocal cords in her larynx. She had surgery this summer to trim some of it off, but it was only a 50/50 shot that it would help the breathing. And we ended up with the wrong 50.

This morning I was rushing to get lunches made, backpacks packed, and a load of laundry in. I came back into the family room only to find one little girl watching "The Fresh Beat Band." Unlike Keagan who is singing and talking where ever she goes, my non verbal Riley can be a little harder to track down. Now that she scoots on her bum, she can quickly maneuver out of sight! Even though I knew I wouldn't get a response, I called out "Riley where are you?" And then it occurred to me that I was listening for her breathing! How sad is that? With my realization of the crazy way I search for my child, a loud breathing but smiley little girl booty scooted around the corner to greet me.

People ask me all the time how I
deal with all that having a Riley comes with. My answer is always that I count my blessings and celebrate the little things. This morning I realized that Riley being a loud breather is a blessing. I know it sounds like a somewhat ridiculous stretch, but its true and it works. Its something very small, but it does matter and make a difference. So I will count it and celebrate it. It's the best way I know of how to turn a negative into a positive and to let the good out shine the bad.

Oh how I wish the girl could talk and just answer my call to tell me right where she is. But until then I'm happy to follow the breathing to find the princess, where ever she may be.


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