Always Smiling

I hope everyone had a great Christmas.  Ours was one of the best ever.  I’ve always loved Christmas, but there is something about having kids that makes it so much better and so much more magical.

Speaking of kids…One thing about Chiari is that it doesn’t care what age you are, it can attack you as an infant or get you when you’re older.  But the one thing I’ve noticed is that without exception every child with Chiari that you hear stories about or see pictures of is that they are always smiling no matter how bad they are feeling.  As a matter of fact no matter what disease or deformity that children have they always manage to smile.  They smile like all is right in their world, how wonderful is that!  I think all of us adults could learn a lesson from the children of the world and learn to smile more.

It’s amazing how powerful a smile can be.  I’ve been asked by people how I handle being in varying amounts of pain everyday.  My stock answer has always been, “I’ve come to accept it, it’s just part of my life.” But as I’ve thought about it during the Holiday Season I think my real answer should be “Smiles”.  I have always tried to find a reason to smile everyday, no matter how bad the day is going.  I have plenty of reasons to smile everyday so it easy for me to smile…I’m married to my Dream Girl and I have the two greatest kids in the world.  Knowing that at the end of the day I get to kiss my wife and hold my kids makes it easy to smile.  But I think the most powerful smiles are other people’s smiles.  Whether it’s the smile I get from my kids the second they realize I’m home, or my wife’s beautiful smile that can light up any room, the smile from a friend, or even the random smile from a stranger, other peoples smiles make me smile and instantly make me forget about the pain, even if it’s only for a few seconds.

So as the New Year approaches I think we should all resolve to smile more in 2014.  After all a smile is a gift you can give for free and you just might help someone get through a rough day.