Against all odds....

I can say with 100% certainly, that I am here, only by the grace of GOD....
How do I know this? I will tell you!

Even as a ball of cells, in my mother's uterus, I had beaten the odds...You see, after she had my brother,(who had a different father, and was 10 and a half years older than me) she experienced a series of recurrent pregnancy losses. She had at LEAST 8 miscarriages, and her doctors told her should would probably never carry another baby to term again...And then I came to be...
She fully expected that in a week or so, after finding out, that she would just lose that pregnancy just like the other's...

But After a couple more weeks and a trip to the DR, they told her "congrats! Looks like you are going to keep this one!"...And as the morning sickness progressed,  and her belly grew, it became even more real...

I was born, July 25th 1984. 6lbs 4 oz...Thriving, and happy...I had beaten the odds...But that would not be last time...

You see, at 9 weeks of age, just two short months after arriving in this world, my mother had put me down for a nap...She went about her daily routine, cleaning the house, and the like...When something out of the ordinary happened....

She was standing in the kitchen, when she felt like a voice told her to go check on me...She had no real reason to believe I was in danger, after all I was just napping in the next room....She quickly went to take a gander at me, when she saw what NO mother should ever have to see....Her baby girl, lifeless, and not breathing...

She began to do CPR on me, and called 911....The emergency team got there, and immediately worked on me, from there to the hospital...No one really knew how long I was truly without oxygen before my mother found me,  but what they did know what that based on my condition, and how long had passed from the time she found me to the time I arrived at the hospital, was that I would never have proper brain activity from the oxygen deprivation If I by some chance I even was resuscitated ...They had basically given up on me, when I began to breathe again, and come "back to life" so to speak...The DR's were astounded, but still very firm and grim, saying that I would not have a normal functioning brain...But after many tests...They came back to my mom, stating, what they had all just experienced was a true miracle of God, and that there was NO way I should be living, let alone thriving with NO effects from the oxygen deprivation....Yet again...I beat the odds...And yet, again, this  would NOT be the last time....

Mountain air...

 I grew up in the mountains of the San Bernardino national forest, a resort area  mountain community, situated just about 60 miles east of LA, in southern California.  Elevation, 7,200 ft high....It was a majestic place ...With towering pine tree's and gigantic mountain ranges and sparkling lakes...Splendid displays of wildlife at every corner...It was a place of simplicity...And  peace...

I spent the majority of my youth, living in various places/ towns along the VERY large mountain range. Despite the distance from town to town,  EVERYONE knew everyone....

Looking back, it almost seemed like this safe little nest, hidden from the "real world", that was lurking just below...As a little girl, I used to peer down from the highway that traveled on the edge of the mountain range, and look at the city below, and wonder what life would be like outside of this little bubble. I was curious to see what it would be like to live as a "flat lander"...I longed to be a savvy inner city girl, who could take on anything the world threw at her...I felt like I was made to do more than stay tucked away in this little safe haven...I felt sheltered.... And hidden....If only I had known what was going to come down the pipe line in the future...I had NO idea, I would experience more than my fare share of "real life" by the time I hit 18....

My parents were professional musicians, who made their living each week by singing/playing at various mountain hot spots that were made popular by those visiting the resort mountain area for vacation...They thrived up there for the most part, and when things got rough during the down times, they would head to country clubs and other ritzy night clubs etc down in the city to make their living.....About 40% of the homes that were on the mountain were "vacation" homes, owned by the rich & famous. The rest were either owned or rented by the mountain residents that kept everything going in the "off seasons". The two biggest money making seasons for the mountain were summer and winter....

In the summer, you had hiking, swimming, boating, water skiing, shopping along the water front stores, and dining out in some of the most quaint and perfect little towns one could imagine...

In the winter, you had rolling mountains, coated with crystal like, white powder snow, suited for the  BEST skiing and snowboarding, and sledding you can imagine! And a View like NO other...

Despite all the beauty in where I grew up...The majority of my  time spent there, was spent wishing away the time, praying one day, I would leave, and some how, "find myself"...And explore a world I thought had so much to offer...Now I find myself having days where I would give anything to go back, even just for a day to soak in the beauty....