Just before Thanksgiving my mother had surgery on her
knee. Apparently, the cartilage had
vanished, which kind of made me a little nervous. I didn’t know our body parts could just
disintegrate like that. I began checking
myself every morning for missing fingers and ears. The only thing that ever came up missing was
my memory.
Mom told the kids she was getting a bionic knee, so they
wanted her to play kick ball with them.
They assumed they’d always win with her on their team. I just wanted to know if it made the same
noise I heard on the Six Million Dollar Man series whenever he kicked into bionic
gear. It would be fun if people came
with their own sound effects. Zac has
his own, but when his are heard people usually leave the room or open windows.
During the initial healing process, Mom was not supposed to
be in a car or put any weight on it. It
needed time to gain strength and she had physical therapy to assist her in
getting there. The problem was, Thanksgiving
was coming up and she was supposed to go to my sister’s house for that
elaborate meal. Laurie’s house is raised
off the ground and at least a dozen steps have to be climbed in order to gain
access to the inside and the food inside.
Mom’s knee trembled at the thought of it.
As the day approached, her knee was gaining strength. They did a test drive, taking mom to my
sister’s two days prior to make sure the car ride wasn’t going to cause her
pain. Then the therapist gave her his
prescription for getting in the house.
“Don’t rush getting inside.
Have two chairs ready. When you
pull up, have one by the car and as soon as you get out, sit and rest a few
moments. When you’re ready, have another
chair at the base of the stairs and go to it.
Again, rest a few minutes.
Another chair needs to be at the top of the stairs. Take them slowly and then rest some more
before going inside the house. When you’re
ready, go inside and sit and enjoy yourself.”
Mom followed his instructions, survived the climb and had a
great Thanksgiving with my sister and her children.
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Savoring the moment |
As she was reciting the therapist’s instructions to me, I
couldn’t help but think what a great philosophy for this journey called
Life. We are usually in such a rush to
get where we are going that we miss the journey altogether. I’ve even done that with my writing. I see the finished project and race to finish
it, quite often getting frustrated that it hadn’t happened already. I need to pause and enjoy each step, savoring
the journey I am on. Each step is
precious and worthy of contemplation.
Don’t rush toward your destination.
Pause. Have a seat. Enjoy what you’ve accomplished so far. Then, get up and tackle the next step.
Don’t sit too long, though.
You can savor the past so much that you waste your future. I knew a pastor like that once. For two years all he preached was what his church
had done, the great things they had accomplished. He didn’t realize that nothing was being done
in the present. Soon, his future started
falling apart. People left the church
and eventually he resigned. Why? Because
he sat savoring the past without getting back up to move to the future.
A balance must be found.
Move from point A to point B and then take a breather. Savor what you’ve accomplished and then look
at Point C and go for it. Once you reach
that final destination, there will be plenty of time to enjoy the entire
journey. However, if you don’t pause to
reflect on what you’ve achieved so far, you’re going to be too exhausted to
enjoy anything.
If Mom had not rested each phase, she could have done
herself serious injury. If you kill yourself
trying to accomplish your dreams, then no one, including you, will reap the
benefit. So, at the end of this day,
pull up a chair and look back at your accomplishments. You deserve a break and a chance to give
yourself a pat on the back for a job well done.
Tomorrow, you begin the next set of steps. They’ll still be there, I promise.
* * * * *
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For Further Reading ~ Moon Walk to Nowhere
Thanks for visiting The Mess!
Afraid my mother's on the brink of going bionic, too, but it sounds like an adventure that likely won't have a bad ending. I'm gonna share this with her. I appreciate your musings, amigo...
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Harvey, and I wish your mom the best if she has to go through the surgery. My mother came through fine and is more mobile now than she has been in years.
DeleteI really did like this. Its funny just this morning on my way to that tumor removal. Kenneth and I were discussing how everyone is in such a damn hurry, I said they should just leave ten minutes earlier and chill out.
ReplyDeleteThen I read this...very nice..
I'm glad you enjoyed it, Cyndi :)
DeleteIt is sad that we seem to be rushing to get everywhere and usually wind up waiting when we do finally arrive. I hope your procedure went well and wish quick healing for you. Thanks for visiting and commenting.