UltraPyrus

To say that I am a pessimist would be an understatement.  Many an optimist has tried to change me, but I am just wired to think about the worst case scenario.  In my vocation, it is my job to pick every little thing apart.

But when you deal with chronic illness, you cannot always focus on the worst case scenario.  It will drive you buggy.  I should know, I am come to the brink a couple of times before someone pulled me back from the edge of the despair precipice.

Once in a while, I just need to clear my mind and look at what is right and what is good.  Today I want to focus just a moment on what I consider a triumph.

I consider myself to be pretty wired and plugged into the online world.  That statement would make my son laugh.  His internet footprint is about a size 18 men’s shoe and growing.  He has a YouTube channel where he reviews video games and video game related paraphernalia.  Specifically the kid is nuts about Mario and the Mario world.  He records videos tutorials for completing games he likes.  He has been doing it for several years now.

Every few weeks, I go up and check his content to make sure everything remains rated G.  As well as monitor his comments.  Well the other day we were chit chatting about how many people subscribe to his channel.  For the first couple of years, he kept at about 15-20 subscribers (mostly friends and family).  So I casually asked him how many subscribers he is up to.  He got a sullen look on his face and said just 180.

<spit out coffee here> WHAT???!  I was dumbfounded and said Wow.   What I was thinking was Holy &*%$$#!  I told him that was fantastic.  He was down in the dumps because someone he admires has a couple of hundred thousand.  I pointed out that he was 10 and person he admired was now an adult.  But he was seeing the glass half full.  (he must get that from his mother 😛 )

We talked it over for a while and I told him how proud I was.

But later that night I really got to thinking about it.  At age ten, I doubt I knew 180 people.  My art was limited to the number of people that happened to see our refrigerator door between cleanings.  I have been blogging for several years now and I am nowhere near 180 subscribers.  My curiosity forced me to take another look at his site.  When I opened the page, I saw an even more startling number, 250,000.  That is the number of hits his site has generated.

Wow.  His sight has been viewed over a quarter of a million times and 180 people regularly look at and comment on his creative outlet.

In spite of all of the medical crap he has to deal with on a daily basis… In spite of the limitations his body puts on him…he has managed to create a sizable virtual community.  And it is not limited to the virtual world.  He has friends, many friends.

I no longer worry about his future.  He is a fighter.  He is going to do just fine.

The glass is not half full.  It is beyond capacity and spilling out on to the floor.  I am a blessed parent.  To those of you dealing with the early years of VACTERL, I know it seems completely overwhelming.  But it gets better.  Don’t forget to look up every now and again and see just how far you have come.  Kids are truly the greatest blessing of life.