Growing

The other day I went with the nurse at my office to do NICU rounds at a local hospital. We get the babies when they are discharged, so we do rounds when discharge is imminent. I loved being there, hearing these little babies stories and what they had been through in their short lives on this earth. We started in the NICU floor for the "growers and feeders," the little ones bigger, and no longer requiring intubation or IV nutrition. There were a lot of sweet babies for me to admire, and they were so so tiny.
After a little while, we went upstairs, to the smaller NICU where the babies are that are the youngest, and most fragile. These little ones are needing help with everything, breathing, eating, maintaining temperature. They are the ones with the tubes everywhere and the watchful eye from the nurses. We looked around and I saw the most precious site. A set of very tiny twins, lying in the same incubator face to face, asleep. What really touched me, was that each twin was almost intertwined as they slept. One's tiny little arm was just lying on her sisters face, as they cuddled each other so peacefully. It was simply beautiful.
I thought of my little one, and his short little stint in the NICU. I remember looking at him in those same incubators, and seeing him sleep in peace. Oh how our life has changed since then. My sweet, funny, and smart boy will be four in 3 weeks. There are times when he hugs me, or when we snuggle while he sleeps, that I see that same peace on his face. That same peace I feel when I lay with my boyfriend, or hang out with my family. I saw the peace on those tiny preemies face, and recognized it as the same as mine. The peace of knowing that you are surrounded by the people that you love.
This is how you grow in real life too.