How do you measure a year in a life?

The Day I became Zi’Joy’s Midlife Melanin Mama.

It was NOT the day you were born that clear crisp scheduled afternoon in April 2017.

It was NOT the next day via the Emergency C-section that brought you into the world

It was NOT all of the late nights or the milestones reached over the 2years 9 months and 10 days we were getting to know each other.

⭐️ The day I became your MIDLIFE MAMA was January 10,2020.

This Day Exactly 1 year ago at 10:32 in the morning on an ordinary Saturday The world for us both stopped and would be forever changed.

You said MAMA MY LEGS DON’T WORK MY BODY HURTS. 7 hours later in a cold stark waiting room after an EXHAUSTING BATTERY OF TEST. We were sent to a premier children’s hospital. 3 spinal taps later. January 14, I was given the news that you would never walk again. AFM Acute Flaccid Myelitis entered our lives and took over.

Given that diagnoses by a team of Neurologist and you sleeping and I was alone in what felt like the 7th circle of Hell. I cried my heart out as I became educated in EVERYTHING AFM. It was in that moment I became your MaMa.

‍♀️ I’ve documented your journey and won’t rehash that. I will say that the Drs call you a medical miracle. The village that surrounded us then and now have been amazing and have showed up in the most unexpected ways. People from around the world allNationalities and ethnic origins. People from all faith believers and nonbelievers. Anti-vaccination people and vaccination people praying loving and supporting us as we have been on this one journey. To your strength training and rehabilitation from not being able to move to those first movements the feeling from your toes to the movement of your legs to your standing those first toddler steps to running. You are the embodiment of what a living miracle.

So early in the morning as I’m holding you KNOW THAT I AM YOUR MAMA AND I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND THE STARS AND BACK.

So I sing to you one of my favorite songs and I thank our YLF FAMILY foy being with us on this journey and many others over these past years.

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty five thousand moments so dear
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure? Measure a year?
In daylights,
In sunsets,
In midnights,
In cups of coffee,
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife
In five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in a life?
How about love?
How about love?
How about love?
Measure in love...
Seasons of love...
Seasons of love...
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty five thousand journeys to plan
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure a life of a woman or a man?
In truths that she learned
Or in times that she cried
In bridges he burned
Or the way that she died
Its time now to sing out though
The story never ends
Let's celebrate remember a year in a life
Of friends
Remember the love...
(Oh you gotta remember the love)
Remember the love...
(Oh yeah, its a gift from up above)
Remember the love...
(Sing out, give out, measure your life
In looooooove...!)
Seasons of love...
Seasons of love...