Fireflies

Last night Kevin's Facebook status read, "Took Amanda and Danielle out into the yard to watch the fireflies tonight. Beautiful ... and then it began to rain like crazy. Amanda loved both, so we stayed out in the rain for as long as we could." It's hard to describe how meaningful those 20 minutes were for our little family.

The last few weeks have been difficult and chaotic. We've cried more than we've laughed; yelled more than we've played. Our nerves have all been raw as a result of Amanda's trauma. People have tried to help and yet it has been impossible for us to define what we need.  Many people have sent Amanda cards or gifts. Some have brought food.

Yesterday we got the best gift of all. My Aunt Beth brought us a ramp that her son-in-law borrowed from a friend's mother. And, yes, it was important to me to specify the complete train of people involved to demonstrate how monumental this gift was. Five people, two of whom we didn't even know, collaborated to bring us a ramp so Amanda could leave the house for the first time in two weeks.

Danielle was literally dancing with joy as we laid the ramp down over the garage threshold. That seven inch step had proven an insurmountable obstacle since Amanda got home from the hospital. Danielle begged to be the first one to push Amanda down the ramp. Kevin, with some reservation, agreed.

It was early evening and the fireflies had just started flickering under the trees that line our driveway. As we walked down our very long drive, Amanda looked from side to side, grinning.

Just as we reached the end, the first drops of rain began to fall. We started to run into the garage until we noticed that Amanda was laughing. The fresh, cool rain must have felt so good on her skin. Kevin ran around in the rain, pushing Amanda while Danielle and I stood off to the side laughing. The rain washed away all the stress and tension of the past few weeks and we went back into the house a happy family again.

"'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs
From ten thousand lightning bugs
As they tried to teach me how to dance.."
 - Fireflies, Adam R. Young