It only Cost an Arm and a Leg…and other funny sayings I’ve learned along the way
Have you ever had a “crazy” day, a crazy week? What about a CRAZY YEAR!! What if one of your children...using the latest technology…instant messaged the WHOLE high school…and 300 teenagers showed up at your house…while you were out of town? Well the saying “Life isn’t like the movies” isn’t always true at my house.
Whether you are living in your own “Animal House” or learning to take the challenges of life and bank them as deposits of personal growth; life is a moment by moment perspective. We will continually have the opportunity to take the kaleidoscope of life and turn it in our hands to see what we can see. And you won’t always be able to have a positive attitude, sometimes we do mourn over loss, but we don’t have to grieve forever. Grieving in my own definition leaves you in a “past” place. I have heard it said that regrets are the past crippling you in the present. I say mourn…don’t grieve. Relish the good, release the hurt.
Later that same year my husband of 20 years began with an onset of epilepsy...on a cruise…where the doctor broke his arm. Mind you a year and a half before I had been in a car accident, resulting in the below knee amputation of one leg and the total reconstruction of the other. Standing on that beautiful cruise ship on my second honeymoon with my husband’s arm broken, having to walk with the aid of a cane, knowing my child was in a place of detention to hopefully prevent future mishaps- the kaleidoscope of my life was definitely whirling…where would it stop...sometimes on good thoughts, sometimes on sad. But your kaleidoscope isn’t stuck. That’s what a kaleidoscope does; it turns. It turns on a dime, turns on a dream, sometimes it only turns on hope.
I know you must be thinking…this is a happy story? Really it is, standing in the state of having to check and establish boundaries with my parenting skills, seeing my husband’s new state and being able to embrace each new day as a gift…I learned that my walk is never determined by physical limitations only, but I am only limited by the emotional expectations that I allow to be used in my life.
So what is it that has cost you an Arm and a Leg? Do you see it as a deposit in the bigger picture of life? Do you see yourself stronger or handicapped by your life experiences? From my perspective we are all disabled people on one level or the other. Question is whether we draw strength from our times of struggles or if we shrink back into places of regret that actually rob us of our emotional depository. Don’t let yourself be robbed. Don’t celebrate tragedy, but do learn how to relish the good in the midst of the change and all that it can provide in your life.
So if it cost you an Arm and a Leg, make sure you value it…treasure it…Remember there is only one life per person and like my friend Dr. Clarice would say – Life isn’t a dress rehearsal.
Have you ever had a “crazy” day, a crazy week? What about a CRAZY YEAR!! What if one of your children...using the latest technology…instant messaged the WHOLE high school…and 300 teenagers showed up at your house…while you were out of town? Well the saying “Life isn’t like the movies” isn’t always true at my house.
Whether you are living in your own “Animal House” or learning to take the challenges of life and bank them as deposits of personal growth; life is a moment by moment perspective. We will continually have the opportunity to take the kaleidoscope of life and turn it in our hands to see what we can see. And you won’t always be able to have a positive attitude, sometimes we do mourn over loss, but we don’t have to grieve forever. Grieving in my own definition leaves you in a “past” place. I have heard it said that regrets are the past crippling you in the present. I say mourn…don’t grieve. Relish the good, release the hurt.
Later that same year my husband of 20 years began with an onset of epilepsy...on a cruise…where the doctor broke his arm. Mind you a year and a half before I had been in a car accident, resulting in the below knee amputation of one leg and the total reconstruction of the other. Standing on that beautiful cruise ship on my second honeymoon with my husband’s arm broken, having to walk with the aid of a cane, knowing my child was in a place of detention to hopefully prevent future mishaps- the kaleidoscope of my life was definitely whirling…where would it stop...sometimes on good thoughts, sometimes on sad. But your kaleidoscope isn’t stuck. That’s what a kaleidoscope does; it turns. It turns on a dime, turns on a dream, sometimes it only turns on hope.
I know you must be thinking…this is a happy story? Really it is, standing in the state of having to check and establish boundaries with my parenting skills, seeing my husband’s new state and being able to embrace each new day as a gift…I learned that my walk is never determined by physical limitations only, but I am only limited by the emotional expectations that I allow to be used in my life.
So what is it that has cost you an Arm and a Leg? Do you see it as a deposit in the bigger picture of life? Do you see yourself stronger or handicapped by your life experiences? From my perspective we are all disabled people on one level or the other. Question is whether we draw strength from our times of struggles or if we shrink back into places of regret that actually rob us of our emotional depository. Don’t let yourself be robbed. Don’t celebrate tragedy, but do learn how to relish the good in the midst of the change and all that it can provide in your life.
So if it cost you an Arm and a Leg, make sure you value it…treasure it…Remember there is only one life per person and like my friend Dr. Clarice would say – Life isn’t a dress rehearsal.