Thankful

So, I am very blessed to have my children. There was a time when I didn't think I would be able to have children at all. It was a very dark and very depressing time for me. When I finally got pregnant with my first child, I was so overwhelmed with joy and at the same time I felt more vulnerable than I had ever felt before. At one point during the pregnancy, the doctors were almost certain that I had cancer and that they would have to remove my only remaining ovary and the possibility that I would loose the pregnancy was very high. I refused to have surgery. As it turned out, I did not have cancer, and I ended up giving birth to a beautiful baby girl. I now have five children, all of whom I carried within my body. For that, I am eternally thankful. I have many friends and acquaintances, however,  who were not blessed with carrying children and giving birth. Some of them have children that they have adopted. Some of them remain childless. Those friends who have adopted children love those children every bit as much as I love mine. Their hearts are bound to those little lives just as my heart is bound to the lives of my children. Those who remain childless have found other avenues in which to pour out the love their hearts ache to give.