I won the Lottery

I'm going to break the rules here.  I'm going to tell you what I wish for every time I blow out candles on a cake, or when I see a shooting star, blow the fluff off a dandelion  or any other time I'm giving the option to close my eyes and make a wish.

I want to win the Lottery.

Now I know as soon as you tell it won't come true, but I don't fear that anymore, because it already has come true!  Haven't you heard?  I won!  In fact, I've won several times!

First, I won the Husband Lottery!  Ben is everything I could have ever asked for in a partner!  I know it's cliche, but it's the only way I can express this correctly: I married my best friend.  From the very start to my day when his alarm goes off, and the first thing he does is quickly turn it off so it doesn't wake me, and then scootch over and give me a kiss on the forehead or cheek (sometimes I'm awake anyway) before getting out of bed to get ready for work.  He spoils me with love and laugher and never misses a moment to act like a complete goof to make me smile.  We work well together, as parents, as house cleaners as construction workers.  We dance around the kitchen while we make dinner together, we take about interesting science articles as we clean up after, we play games while we fold laundry (he always tries to shake the sheet from my grasp when we are folding them, or he plays goalie for his sock drawer as I try to throw the bundled up socks in), we go for walks together and talk about our future, we discuss Marvel movies while drywalling our garage - we talk about everything and anything.  He gives me hugs from behind when I'm working at the sink, and I give him top of the head kisses when he's on his computer.  I've never in my life felt more loved in every way.  He supports me and my interests, getting up at 5:30am just to cheer me on in my first 5km run, and he's always excited to see photos of the makeup and hair I've done.  He works extra hard to provide for Inara and I so that I can stay home with her during the day, and live out my dream of being a full time mom and hair and makeup artist.  He loves to surprise me, and goes above and beyond to plan little romantic gestures that he knows will make me cry (happy tears of course!).  He's the best father I could ever ask for for our daughter and never turns up his nose at changing a diaper, or getting our little one dressed - he even puts the little hair clips in her hair too!  He has my whole heart, and I couldn't give it to a better person.  My Ben is everything I have ever wanted in a Husband or partner - I won the lottery.

Next, I won the Business Partner Lottery!  Melissa is amazing.  I say it all the time, and never once have I ever felt that "Amazing" is a good enough word to describe just how highly I think of this girl.  Her photography is second to no one, and she has a heart of gold!  Not only did I manage to find Edmonton's BEST photographer, but she picked me to work with her!  AND she's one of my very best friends!  Melissa is so easy to talk to, and she's fun to work with!  Neither of us feel like we are working when we get together for a shoot, and our clients echo the same sentiments - what we do, is fun!  And I can only atribute it to the incredible chemistry Melissa and I have together.  We speak the words of beauty insanely well, and when we get together to collaborate on a shoot the creative juices start flowing and we end up bouncing idea after idea off of each other until a "little project" has become an incredible masterpiece!  Melissa and I clicked from the first moment we met, and I'm always excited to work with her and see her.  She's one of the best people I know and I'm so lucky to have her in my life - I won the lottery.

I also won the friend lottery.  Several times in fact.  From my boys back in Calgary who always accepted I was "one of the boys" and there was no place I would rather be that in a pub watching hockey with them, to my girls who share my unique sense of adventure and are always up for crazy, stupid, hilarious, ideas, that usually get us into trouble but always give us an awesome story to tell.  And the new friends I’ve met in Edmonton, people who knew went out of their way to welcome me, and make me feel included.  People who message me within moments of me posting a frustrated status on facebook just to check if everything is okay.  People who always offer services to babysit to give Ben and I a date night without us ever having to ask first.  I also have friends online, miles apart but no more than a message away, friends who have become closer to me than people I used to see every day.  People who were always there for me when I was stressed out, needed advice or had good news to share.  I have a large group of caring, thoughtful, intelligent, fun, generous, loving friends in my life that I have stories with, I’ve cried with, I’ve laughed until I cried with, and always fill my heart with so much love after seeing or talking to them.  I won the Lottery. 

I cannot forget my family win too – I won that too, I know, I’m like… super lucky!  There is such a stigma about the “In-laws” or the “Mother in Law” in which it seems the amount of people in this world who actually really love and enjoy the company of their in-laws is so few and far between, but not this chick.  My in-laws are some of the kindest, most loving, caring people I’ve ever met!  I’m not just saying that either.  Ben has such a close relationship with his parents, and I clearly understand why!  A day at Mom and Dad’s place is usually filled with drinks, great food, a little bit of picking on Dad, Mom piping in with “that’s what she said” and lots of stories and laughs.  Often Ben and I will go see Ben’s parents as our “night out”.  Mom is one of the easiest people to talk to, and she will often give me a call during the day just to check in, and chat!  She feels more like a girlfriend to me!  Dad gives some of the best hugs, and always has a pun or some sagely advice for whatever you might be discussing!  They have helped us in more ways that I can count!!  Moving us, helping paint, renovations, projects, babysitting – Mom and Dad are always there for us, and always go above and beyond.  They once volunteered to come paint our bedroom while we were at work to help us get ready to sell our Condo!  We weren’t even there!  Ben’s parents are some of the best people I know, and I’m so thankful that I get to call them Mom and Dad.  There’s a saying “You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family”  I couldn’t have picked better in-laws had I tried!  I won the Lottery. 

Last, but certainly not least – I won the Baby Lottery.  I didn’t even know such a thing existed, but here I am!  I’m going to put on my bragging Mom hat here, but seriously – my child is perfect.  Inara is such a happy baby, she’s calm, she’s focused, and she loves to smile and laugh.  When she was 4 weeks old we discovered she had an allergy to cows milk protein in her formula, know how we knew?  She was a little bit fussy.  Yup.  That’s it.  Inara didn’t really cry, and never fussed usually, so when she seemed a little bit upset or agitated that tipped us off that there was something wrong.  I felt like a crazy mom going into the Stollery telling the doctor “she’s a little bit fussy” and trying to have them take me seriously, but she was such a calm quiet baby that “a little bit fussy” was cause for alarm.  THAT’S how good we had it!!  When Inara was 2 weeks old and had gained all her birth weight and lots more, we were told we could go to on-demand feedings.  Immediately she started giving us 4 hour chunks.  By 6 weeks old she was giving us 6 hours, and by 8 week we were getting a solid 8 out of her.  At 9 weeks old we were getting 10-12 hours a night, and it’s been that way since.  She puts herself to sleep most of the time, and aside from a couple weeks in July when she went through a weird phase, she’s out at the latest by 8pm.  We used to visit friends and bring the Pack & Play with us, and once Inara was asleep, we were free to stay as long as we liked, and be as loud as we wanted to – Inara slept through everything (including a very loud screening of the original Fast and the Furious Movie in the next room!).  When she was 5 months old we went to Mexico, and while waiting to board the plane to come back to Edmonton Inara fell asleep, so we made a little bed on our carry-on luggage for her to sleep on.   While she was sleeping we kept getting very loud obnoxious intercom announcements overhead that blared in our ears.  Finally after 30 minutes of announcements in both English and Spanish one of our travel companions said “What I want to know is – how is that Baby still sleeping, and what kind of black magic is this that I can apply to when I have a child in the future?”  She’s awesome.  It’s rare that she cries when she wakes, and the first thing we see in the morning is her grin ear to ear, and the last thing we see at night is that same grin as she waves good night.  This may mean that our next child might be the complete opposite, but right now, when it comes to Inara – I won the lottery. 

I’ve been very fortunate in my life – not always mind you, it hasn't always been flowers and rainbows, and I have had my share of disappointment and heartache, but I feel like these days I really have no complaints in the way my life has turned out.  It’s all been worth it to this point.   Every lame boyfriend, or fair-weather friend has just been a lottery ticket that didn’t pan out – all leading up to where I am these days. 

I won.