Redeem Your Day

This weekend was bittersweet.  Sweet in that Sunday was Father’s Day and I was showered with love and attention by Brown & Littlest One…and Britt.  It was really great…soul-filling…affirming…and so rich. I’m blessed.

Bitter in that I got the news of 2 horrible things that had happened this past week.  First, a guy I briefly worked with last year…a young guy, not even 30…died of complications from spinal meningitis just 2 weeks after being diagnosed. He was the kind of guy who didn’t know a stranger, lit up a room, always had something positive to say…he seemed to make the most of every day.  The kind of guy you wanted to hang out with, you wanted to be more like…and speaking of Father’s Day…the kind of guy I’d love for my girls to meet someday.  His death was unexpected, tragic on so many levels, sickening…leaving me with more questions than answers. Ugg.

Also…and closer to home for me…my younger sister, Donna, was admitted to the hospital…and diagnosed with a freakish thing called Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS).  Essentially, it’s a disorder affecting the nervous system that starts as tingling and weakening of the feet and hands…then moving towards your trunk…potentially resulting in paralysis and respiratory issues.  Fortunately, most people fully recover from GBS  and it looks like Donna’s case was caught early and she’s already responding well to treatment. Regardless, it’s early on and we’re all praying for a speedy and full recovery for my sweet little sister.

Donna (L) and Deborah (R)…our big sis.

Like my friend, Donna is the type of person who truly lights up a room…her smile and quick wit and the loving glimmer in her eyes cannot be missed.  She’s so capable, so giving…loving…caring, so full of life…and even from her hospital bed, she tries to make the most of every day.  She’s an incredible mom, wife, daughter, friend…and sister.   I love her…and although it’s hard for this big brother to admit at times…even at 46, I want to be more like her.  She inspires me…brings me life whenever I’m with her.  I’m blessed.

Donna’s freakish situation was unexpected, heart-stopping, gut-checking…and again, leaving me with more questions than answers.  Ugg.

Like some of my other posts, the connection between this heavier topic and the lighter ones…like how to prune azaleas, may be difficult for some to see…or viewed by others as far-reaching or even heavy-handed. Although I’m not going to apologize for making this post to RYGblog, I will try to connect the dots a bit.

Put quite simply, we are not promised tomorrow.  And if we are blessed with another tomorrow, we aren’t promised that it will look like today.  So we have a choice to make. Curl up in the fetal position in fear or denial, thinking perhaps it will all go away – which, frankly, I have the natural inclination to do.  Or allow it to be a heart and gut-check – calibrating how you see and treat the people in your life…what you make of your day. So with prayers for my friend’s family and my sister Donna, I’m choosing the latter…to, as best I can, redeem my day…which may include redeeming a little ground.  I hope you do too.

Take care friends,