What is Luck?

What do you consider luck? According to the dictionary, luck is a force that brings good fortune OR adversity. It can be good or bad, but it's always luck. There are those that will say "I don't believe in Luck" or "I don't believe in fate", but it is there. Is it luck that a friend of mine, who usually curses road construction, was saved by it because it prevented a horrible crash? Is it luck that led me to meet my husband over 20 years ago, when I was just a teenager?

And what about the lucky "signs" or "charms" or even rituals that people have? They say that some people are luckier than others...I say it's how you personally view life.

The day that Monster was born, everyone was telling me how lucky I was that I had gone to the doctor that day, because if not, he probably would have been stillborn. I had an ultrasound with the high risk doctor that came up from Houston, and I had my normal ultrasound the next day. The pregnancy was mostly uneventful, though I had to be monitored closely because of the seizures I had and also because of the severe asthma I had. I almost didn't go to the ultrasound that morning. I figured "everything has been normal and the doctors are making a fuss out of nothing."

So, very reluctantly I went to the ultrasound even though I was horribly tired. As "luck" would have it, the doctor was running late because of traffic. The ultrasound tech didn't want to keep me waiting too long, and (in my guess) she was fairly new, because she was just "messing around" and looking at different measurements. I was joking with her almost the whole time. There was another tech that was with her, and they were talking about the way you could identify a baby with club foot (I freaked out at that one!) and other abnormalities. Since I am medically trained also, I knew that if she didn't learn about it on the job, it would be hard for her to know what she was looking at, so I was joking with them, and talking with them the whole time.

Then, when the doctor did finally get there, an hour later, the technician met her in the hallway. Nothing new to me, it's called "report". So, the doctor came in, and started the ultrasound, and then she was saying she agreed with the technician, and turned to me and said, "it's baby time, you need to go to the hospital now and they will either fly you to Houston or take you by ambulance." I FREAKED OUT AND STARTED CRYING...it was two months early!!! I asked her if I had time to go home and tell my husband and get some things, and she said "yes, but don't take too long, they will be expecting you at the hospital soon."

Needless to say, I got to the hospital and was there for thirty minutes, and was transferred to a hospital in Houston by LifeFlight. Monster was born later that day, at 5:36PM, by emergency c-section. Because, I was "lucky" and went to the ultrasound that morning, he was only in the NICU for two weeks. Had I skipped that appointment, things would have turned out differently.

Was it "luck" that the doctor and the technician saw the problems? Was it luck that I went to this appointment that I wanted to skip? Was it luck that the weather was good enough for the LifeFlight? Was it luck that my husband made it to the hospital, with literally 30 seconds to spare before Monster was born? Was it luck that Monster was relatively healthy at birth?

My answer to all those questions is YES! I'm an incredibly lucky woman! Many, many years ago, I had a miscarriage on May 5, but on May 5 Monster was born. I believe it was "luck" on both occasions. Even if some people see something as "bad" luck, it's still "luck" and it happens every day, right in front of our eyes. You don't even need to look that hard...Luck is all around you! Embrace it!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the Bookieboo and "Earthies Wants You to Feel Lucky" blogging program, making me eligible to win a pair of Earthies shoes and American Express Gift Cards. For more information on how you can participate, click here.