Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for a dream I had this week.

We were in a hospital hallway with Kyrie, who was older but still the same 1-year-old size. There was a lot of hustle and bustle with nurses and recreational staff members. A group of teenage patients were following a staff member outside to the basketball courts; the staff member scooped up Kyrie to go outside with all of these older kids to play, and I screamed. They ran. I ran faster and grabbed her out of the staff member's arm, screaming how careless he was for disregarding her condition.

We got back inside, I looked at Kyrie and told her I loved her. She said, "I love you, too, Aunt Megan."

Just hearing this in my head as I type this gives me goosebumps. She was never old enough to say a sentence like that, much less to me or especially to her parents.

Next, a bunch of Kyrie Foundation supporters are in a beautiful wheat field at dusk. People are driving in, piling out of cars and what-not. The event was simply dinner grilled on the new Kyrie Foundation grill and Kyrie's tribute video.  After dinner, a little into the video, a few people start leaving, heading onto other plans for the evening. The rest of us look at each other in disbelief and share an unspoken feeling of "it takes a special kind of person to care about this." The video ends. Jordan stands up and tells everyone that even though it's hard to watch, "we play this so we can all imagine a different ending."

I'm imagining a different ending right now, for Kyrie and for Ethan and for Taya, for every family on their knees today in shock over a diagnosis. Imagination, though, can become reality at the Twilight Walk next month. I really hope you'll join me.

What are you thankful for today?