Life, reflected (R&M 2)

So my mom is not doing so well. To be fair, tho, she is better now than the prior 15 or so days. She's been in the hospital. Stroke number two. And there is of course the little thing known as MS which has stolen her ability to walk. But I don't like to write about sad things. Its' not in my nature; and I prefer not to dwell on such topics. I visited my mom in a rehab center towards the end of her stay. She was sad to be there. And it was a depressing place. Many folks were there for the long haul. Or until their haul was over. Others were beyond any hope, simply existing day to day.

We went outside, me pushing the institutional wheelchair (her own is at least all black and somewhat cooler). I walked around the paved areas, pushing my mom in a comfortable way. We talked some. I told her about my upcoming marathon, work, school, other random topics. After a while we parked in the front of the building. We sat, enjoying each other's silent company the way old friends can do. I noticed the greenness of the grass and the trees; the way the wind blew; the white dots of cloud in the beautiful sky; a squirrel jumped through the grass. Everything was in focus. In our afflicted lives, this is as close to perfection as we could muster.

So what's the point? Well folks the point is we take too much for granted. It's been a long time since I've sat and looked around like that. I think that as people we don't spend near enough time doing good things. Things we can do; things we should do. Like thinking and listening and reflecting. We don't appreciate what we have until someone comes and steals it away. I'm not talking about grand, 'meaning of life' kind of stuff. I'm talking about the simple things. Like the greenness of grass. Or walking. Or being healthy. This is important stuff; things we should think about everyday. And a lot of this stuff is within our control. Eating well, being nice to people, wearing sunscreen, thinking, listening. But so often we choose to do things that are bad for us - choices that are ours to make. I would gladly give my mom a choice of being in a wheelchair or being able to walk. Which one do you think she would choose? Get my point?

In case you don't: we are fortunate to make many choices in life. Many times we know what the 'good' choices are. Yet we often choose otherwise. Maybe we should think twice about that. Because at some point there might not be a choice. There might be something that just is; something we can't control and simply have to deal with. Will you be ready? I don't know that my mom was. I don't know that any of us were. So until that time comes - and I sincerely hope that it does not, for anyone - do what you know is right. Do what's fair, what's healthy or what benefits everyone. Don't get so worked up over someone who stole your parking space or if your Internet isn't working. But most importantly, wear sunscreen.

Peace.