Things I Have Learned The Hard Way

What I'll be wearing for the next three to six months.


I’ve learned a lot over the past two weeks. There I was bopping along—worries, stresses, too much work, not enough down-time, and wham-bam life was turned upside down, to the point of not even being recognizable. About two week ago, I started having serious headaches. My Doctor thought it was a bad sinus infection. I bought into that until the headaches started getting worse. You know how they tell you that when you can honestly say, “I have the worse headache I’ve ever had,” you should go to the emergency room immediately? Well, I didn’t—at least not immediately. The result was that I ended up being transferred from one hospital to another by ambulance, rushed into surgery, and given a tres chic haircut, (translate shaved head) and two drains coming out of my head to relieve the pressure from bleeding in my head. It’s a blessing that I don’t remember any of it, but I do remember some things that will be with me in the years ahead:
1. When you are flat on your back in a hospital bed, there are no faces you want to see more than the loving, smiling faces of husband, children and grandchildren, all saying, “We love you,” and “Come on Mom you can do it!”

2. When my head is wrapped, mummy-style, in bandages I look a little like Charlie Brown—you know, the kid with the round head. Don't want to do that again!

3. Nothing is more important than living a stress free, calm, relaxed life. I was a workaholic, and now I realize that the importance of work just doesn’t compare with the importance of being happy and enjoying life

4. I have staples zig-zagging across the top of my head, and I keep waiting for the little train to come out of one ear and zip across to the other ear. From this I learned that when incapacitated I’ll use almost anything to entertain myself.

5. Nothing can stop me from knitting! I was concerned that I might not be able to focus my eyes on knitting for weeks or months. When I discovered that I could knit without any problems I was a “happy camper.” My best advice is to do what makes you happy, and if knitting does that for you, as it does for me, don’t let anything prevent you from it.

6. Bald is beautiful! Except for said train tracks on the top, my head doesn’t look half bad! I think we can get used to almost anything when we consider the alternatives.

7. From now on I will take life one day at a time. One day’s problems are enough for anyone to handle. In addition, when I contemplate problems for the first time, I will do it with a smile and a feeling of “whatever.”

I have new life plans: I plan never to let things overwhelm me again. I plan to look for the best in every person and every situation. I plan to maintain this attitude in any way possible, and to always, always remember that LIFE IS GOOD! I've learned all the life lessons I want to for a while.