A Slice Of The Pie Of Life

It's been unbearably hot and business has been slow.  Ubaldo, Margaret, Alicia and I have tried to give one another a break so that we're not dealing with the heat for too long.  This is truly the "Dog Days of Summer."   Hot.  It's just hot.  Nothing and no one moves with much speed.  We're just waiting.  Waiting for a break in the weather.  Anything.  Just a break.  It's just too hot.

But people are still shopping.  And they are smiling and saying, "don't worry, it's hot everywhere."  They're faithful and great people.

Business and the stuff of life mix.  They seem to mix better in heat.

Today a couple who have been customers for years, came in and we talked about life.  They always ask about Jed.  They shared about their grandson.  Their grandson was born incomplete.  He's 12 now and  he can't do anything.  Nothing.  The son just put him in a home.  The grandparents weep.

Another customer sold me wonderful things as she shared some of her varied international life.  Her travels, her husbands, her boob jobs,.....the murder of her brother.

This little shop of mine is a slice of the pie of life. 

I listen to people.  I share some too.

What I come away with is joy.

Joy that we, the human race, just keep on keeping on.

Also today a desperate man came into the shop wanting me to buy books.  Another a curio cabinet, another some jewelry.  They all have a similar story...their life is hard.  I can't save everybody who comes in with something to sell.  I'm working on saving myself, and Jed, and Ubaldo, James, and Jean....you get the picture.   Often I give lectures.  Today's book gentleman just needed $40 or he would lose everything he had.  I got a little tired of his whining and asked him if he would be losing his arms and legs?

He looked at me shocked and said, "no."  Needless to say, I told him about Jed and lectured him a bit.  They know what their going to get from me, but they just keep coming back.
What I get here every day, is a slice of the pie of life. 

The pie is delicious, but sometimes it's just too sour to handle.

What Can I Do?

It's been a long time.  Jed's accident.  Hope still hangs around, but it's not as lively as it once was.  We watch a lot of TV.  Sleep and TV.  Discussions are lively when sleep is not the priority. 

Today we went on a mini trip.  Now that we have the Blue Ox, my name for the new van, the two of us can go places without help.  It's nice to be just with Jed.  It's nice to remember how we once were so playful.  But it's hard.  Our mini trip today was chasing thunderheads.  We both love clouds.  We both love storms. We got in the Blue Ox and headed mountainside. 

It wasn't long before Jed was tired.  He was done with the adventure.  I, on the other hand, was adventure bound and determined he would have one too. 
"I've had enough," he told me, almost at the top of the mountain. "Well, that's just too bad."  I responded.  "We're here and we can't just say we're not, so we have to figure out what we're doing." 
So we drive around a bit, deal with a few issues, and go on with our mini adventure. 

When we got home Jed tells me what a wonderful time he had and thanks me for making sure he didn't give up.

Hope hangs around.

We went to the pool today before the cloud chasing adventure and he walked.  He walked remarkably.  What he can do in the water he can one day do on land.

Keeping a positive attitude is a struggle.  I get lonely for the husband I once had.   I get bound up by the responsibilities, I get tired of trying to be the cheerleader.   I get squashed.  What am I to do?

I'm a Christian.  So, of course, I should pray, and believe, yadda, yadda, yadda.  Well, here's the deal.  I do believe.  You know, sun when it's not shinning, etc.  I really do believe that there is a God.  I am a classic example of looking in the mirror dimly, because I don't have a clue how God has planned it all.


 I'm just lonely for my husband who could do everything.   I am stong and am able to manage the strength things required, but just want for things to be different and wonder why God picked us for this. 

What Can I Do?

Greatness

There's most likely very few Americans who have not been touched in some way by watching the summer Olympics in London.  I'm stuck on it.  It's a motivational movie.  Even the commercials.  Sometimes I tear up with pride and joy.  These young people move us all.  Out of our commonness and into magic.  The best of the whole world.  Really, the best on the entire earth at one place and one time in peace and beauty.

Yesterday there were seven police officers in the shop.  Seven, plus a detective, all because of an item that was supposedly stolen property.  I didn't stress.  I closed my eyes, said a silent prayer and gave it to God.  Police roaming about.   The "owner" of the property strutting intense.  It all streamed fluidly through me. 

It's our job to be the best we can be.  Watching the Olympics is a good reminder, a great one, actually, but, it's our human job to be the best we can be.  Whether that be dealing with a detective, a police officer, an intense victim of theft, a desperate mother trying to sell her stuff to buy school clothes for her children, or a husband who has been more than three years a quadriplegic.  We need to be our best and expect nothing less from the people we encounter.  

Greatness.  The Olympics remind us that Greatness is not and old fashioned ideal.  We can all be great.
Jed, my husband, is great.  He has been a quadriplegic since April 2009.  He has not been able to even scratch his nose for more than three years.  But, he greets each day with a plan to improve.  He greets each day with a positiveness that I can barely comprehend.  His greatness inspires me to be the best that I can be.  His greatness inspires me to face the detectives, the victims, and the desperate with the best that I have.

I don't have a clue how God designed all of this, but I see Him in these remarkable people who represent their countries in the Olympics.  Their journey to London is varied.  Their journey is full of barriers and struggles.  Ours are too.  All of us.  Those of us who struggle to be the best we can be are touched by the examples we see at the Olympics.

From daily stuff, to the remarkable Olympic demonstrations of greatness, lies the everyday things we all do.  Most of them are great.  We get up, and do our best.  Some of us are quadriplegics.  Some of us are caregivers, some of us are police or detectives.  Some of us are victims of crimes and some of us are business people just trying to do our best.  Most of us are great.

I know, there's lots of bad stuff out there.  But I just watched some amazing Olympic records, while at the same time assisted my husband in some basic needs.  I just refuse to fall into the doom and gloom mentality.  Our world is not going to be better unless we all try.  Jed's line, that he always used with his students, was, "Can't never did a thing.  Try does it all."  By using the example of the Olympic champions, I will try to be the best that I can be.