The power of a smile. I never realized the power of a smile until I had Lydia. While I LOVED when my other children smiled, it never had quite the impact of Lydia's smile. I think there are several reasons for this.
One, when Lydia smiles, she uses her entire face. Her smile can be seen in the darkness from anywhere. It is amazing how much her smile lights up. She smiles with her eyes, her nose, her cheek bones, her forehead, her eyebrows, her ears...her entire face lights up.
She feeds off of other people. As soon as she sees someone she just lights up. And it is not half heartily, but she does it with all of her being. She makes sure the person is look and flashes that cheese ball smile that you can't help but fall in love with.
To me her smile means that she has survived. I have watched her endure so much. She has battled through surgery after surgery, she has been dead and alive in the same moments, she constantly had people poking and prodding and her, she was always made to do something that she did not want to do. She has overcome that and not just survived, but she has a BEAUTIFUL smile on her face too. She is proud of that and she can smile about it. It is not a smile that holds grudges because she feels sorry that she had to endure everything, not a smile that is holding back because she thinks that she is of less worth; but a smile that radiates confidence and self pride. A smile that was created to light up the lives of those around her.
I am told often that people could just look at her smile and it can turn their day around. People have asked me if I will just bring her by their office so she can put them in a good mood. To be able to have that much of an impact on people's lives is simply amazing.
I am blessed to have that smile around me every second of the day. I usually don't take it for granted either. I usually can't help but smile back at her and hug her. Something about that smile that takes my breath way. Something about that smile that is simply amazing. Something about that smile that is nothing more than a miracle!
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