My sweetie always says, “You don’t have to look far to find someone who is worse off than yourself.” Lately, this statement has been proven correct almost daily.
It’s spring. Finally. The season of birth. Renewal. My brain even feels it. I am more relaxed. The messy house no longer seems like it’s doomed to forever be covered in hats, mittens, coats, boots. The kids can go outside to dig in the dirt, play with their trucks, ride their bikes. There are sidewalk chalk “drawings” on the house siding. Phew. It’s been a long time coming, this kid-friendly season.
And yet for weeks I have not had to look far to learn of someone else’s suffering. Illness. Loss. Grief. And the extreme emotional stress that comes with it all. What is happening? As the vernal pools literally spring with new life, my friends all seem to be drowning in life’s fleeting reality.
All of this makes me want to hug my kids a little tighter as I shoo them out the door to play.
Maybe we all need a reality check sometimes. And we, the lucky ones, catch it through someone else’s hardship. It’s not a graceful way to be grateful.
In our house, this spring season coincides with all of us coming out of a very tough year. Illness. Hospitalizations. Financial strain. And yet, ironically, all of the hardship came to us while E was on her way and made her debut. So here we are, awaiting the flower buds, surrounded by the circle of life and celebrating our own three little miracles. Life goes on. And I am so grateful.
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