Year in Review: Thoughts and Babies... and Thoughts

Come January of each year, I ask myself a question:

Who's gonna have a baby this year?

Someone once said, "You are, LadyLee!"

Uh, no. I don't believe so. But you never know about these things. Heck, anything is bound to happen.

But it never fails that I get the wonderful chance to crochet at least 2 or 3 baby blankets per year.

And I like doing that because it involves giving a very unique gift of something made with my own hands.

And last year was no different. I made 5 blankets. That was a lot.

Four of those blankets were for blogger Bliss...

It began as one of those things where she was just thinking about having a baby... and she was blogging about it.  And I remember thinking "Whelp! Guess it's time to do a yarn run down to the southside for baby yarn."  And even then, it was just a mere thought in her mind.

Why did I do that? Because I realize everything starts with a thought.

And a thought is merely a seed. A seed pregnant with fruit... and possiblity.

A thought meditated on eventually becomes reality. Hence... it was time to do a yarn run.

And that Bliss... I have seen over the past several years, whatever that Oldgirl get ta thinkin' on, it comes to past. Quickly.

What a wonderful thing to see in a person. Sure, it happens with us all. But my goodness, she has always been amazing to watch. Her goals are so lofty... big and bold, in 3D IMAX HD... Just big stuff.

So the baby desire was no different. I knew that would come to past. Pretty fast. So I needed to be thinking about blankets.

And hence came the Four Bliss Collection.

She was having trouble conceiving, and after a few tests, it was determined that alternative fertility methods were necessary, namely in vitro.

That could be a bit scary.

But you know, that Bliss... when that Bliss starts thinking about things... hmm.

It was fascinating to read blog posts about her in vitro fertilization treatments. I am a scientist, and I love all things science, but this fertilization process was O_O. Technology is something else! It was so fascinating to read about the different medicines and their purposes and all that. Fascinating.

She posted up pictures of the 2 embryos selected for implantation.

I was in awe of that. They can take pictures of embryos? Well of course they can. With a good magnigying microscope. I used a few in college biology class. I even took an x-ray picture of a perfectly crystallized chemical for a class in grad school. And I did all that some 20 to 25 years ago. So yes that's possible. No telling what kind of technology they have out there now!

But I was in awe because this was real. A mere thought had begun to take form.

2 embryos- no faces, no bodies, indistinguishable, over time became...

2 babies. 2 baby girls. (Don't worry, she gave me permission to snatch a photo.)

2 big healthy babies. I believe one was 6 pounds and the other was close to 7 pounds.

That whole process just amazed me. Yes, it happens every day. All the time.

Thoughts become reality. Eventually.

And can you imagine having a picture of yourself as an embryo?  Yes, we all have baby pictures. But a picture of yourself as an embryo? That just boggles my mind.

This was such a stark reminder of that principle, and it's a one of the most glaring reminder of the many reminders I had last year of that principle.

I need that type of reminder every day. And I am sure if I pay attention, that actually occurs.

So Bliss. Congratulations to you on such a HUGE change to your life. You have gone from having one daughter to three daughters... all in one year.

I know this will be a year you will always remember. It is definitely one that I will always remember, as you were so generous in sharing it in writing with us, just as we were right there with you. I am highly appreciative of the lessons I learned through the whole process...

Our thoughts are truly important. And when thoughts are meditated on, something is eventually produced.

No one robs a bank without first thinking about it.

No one does anything without first thinking about it.

With that said, we shouldn't just meditate on certain thoughts, should we? Especially the negative ones.

And it makes all the sense in the world to have grand lofty positive thoughts... on purpose.

All of this is important. You don't have to think it is. But whether you like it or not, it is. Advertisers think it's important. Why do you think it costs 4 million dollars for a 30 second commercial in the Sup.er Bo.wl?

It's worth that much to initiate a thought in your head. That simple thought may manifest itself, may make you make a decision to go out and take action. And making as many people as possible aware of something is worth THAT much. And dare I say, probably worth much more.

But I like the more organic form of thoughts. The intangible thoughts. I remember when Bliss first said she was having thoughts of it. I knew I would be making blankets as a result.

And a card. You know how I am about my cards.

That was a fun card. There's just something therapeutic about making a card. I need to make more of them.

Now, Bliss has that older daughter. I can't forget about her, can I? I thought about her because I was about the same age as her (age 16-17), when my baby brother Milk and Cookies was born. So I understand the thoughts that go through the mind when THAT big of a change occurs. It's a bit overwhelming.

So I made sure to send her a card... along with a little note also...

Hmm...

...to be continued.