So my birthday weekend was last weekend. It was definitely
one to remember! Does anyone else, nearing a birthday, begin to say that you
already are the age you are nearing? Then, do you have a hard time remembering
if you already *are* that age and going up another year and actually have to
ask someone how old you are? No? Just me? I doubt that!
My weekend was building with anticipatory greatness as I
knew my precious friends Dave and Evelyn were getting engaged. Ev didn’t know,
but many of us did which made the engagement party all the more exciting! Also,
I had a tiny bit invested as I introduced them a couple of years ago. J When the special night
arrived, I went straight to the party from a baby shower for a friend who is
pregnant with twins; a boy and a girl! So lots of special things were happening
that day.
With all of the excitement, and a cat that I encountered, I
headed home with a migraine that came on faster than I drive. My precious
neighbor had a few birthday goodies for me, but if you’ve ever had a migraine
you know that dark and quiet is all you crave, so I slithered into my warm and muggy
bed because my air decided to go out (again!!!) earlier in the day. Checking my
mail one last time before going off to sleep, I read that a friend of mine had
been diagnosed with a serious illness… the birthday fun just doesn’t end. I
ended up crying myself to sleep. The year of the Leo? I think not!
The following morning my phone rang and it was Mom checking
on our dinner plans for that evening. I told her about the air, my friend, and
other things. I said “I’m not handling things well this time, Mom”. She said “What
do you mean ‘well’?” I said, “I usually handle things really well. I’m not. I’m
upset!” Mom said, “Becky, the worst thing I did after your dad died was try to
be so strong that I didn’t need anyone or talk about it; I almost broke down.
It’s okay for you to cry.” And I did… I
told her I was mad that my air was out. I was mad that cancer takes people I
care about. I was mad that after 7 years, I’m still doing this alone and it’s
hard. I cried and I cried hard… and it felt really, really good… and no one
came to take me away!!! (yet)
Later that day at the ballpark my car battery died. You can
laugh now, it’s okay. I did. At my sister’s house I was greeted with a very
large glass of wine and when I started telling my mom about the car battery I
began to laugh so hard I almost cried! She gave me a card that said something
to the effect of “Any mom would be proud to have a daughter like you” and then
she followed it up by saying “Until this weekend, that is!” We laughed… and
laughed…
You see, life just happens. I didn’t do anything wrong or
bad. Things just happened. It just so happened that many little things happened
in a row; nothing huge. It’s like my friend used to say it’s like being gnawed
to death by ducks. And it’s okay to be upset and frustrated and to talk about
it, or even cry. I do handle things well. I am strong. Strong means asking for
help if you need it. Strong means being there if someone else needs it.
So the week has been really great since. I really do think
we have to put things in perspective. I
am so blessed in ways that I still can’t believe God sees fit to bless me! But
sometimes, life happens, and if we just handle it, well, that is ‘handling it
well’.
Becky W.
