Appreciate What You Have

This week my boss got to go on a vacation, and a much needed one at that. While she is gone we as the staff have a laundry list of things we want to get done before she gets back. Somehow this list seems to get longer and longer the longer she is gone. To make matters even more interesting is that we are all determined to not call/text or bug her in any way while she is gone. This is the hardest of all tasks, because though we know she is gone, and we have tried to tell our clients that she is unavailable, there are still those out there that need their pet’s doctor. So what is it about people being unavailable that makes them more needed. It’s not like the animals waited until she left town to get sick or hurt.

The saying “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone” comes to mind. Though it is only a week, our doctor is missed. The same holds true in every day life. Two years ago my hubby was gone for 6 months almost straight. When we first agreed to him going over seas I didn’t think it would be too difficult. The kids were in school and when I got off of work I would spend time with them while making dinner with weekends reserved for us doing something as a family. The first month was smooth sailing, months 2-6 were progressively rockier, with us all being really excited to have Tim come home. We didn’t realize how hard it would be on the family having him gone. Now he isn’t allowed to go anyway (kidding…..kind of). We were lucky in the sense that we got to have him back, some people aren’t as lucky and they have to live a new normal without their loved ones.

A friend and I were talking a couple days ago about how quickly things can change and there is really no way to know when it will happen. People loose their jobs, people get new opportunities opened up for them. People get left behind, while others seem to be in the right spot at the right time. Celebrations can happen on a whim just as quickly as tears of sorrow flow over the loss of a loved one. Having teenagers will teach parents quickly enough the fact that nothing ever stays the same or is as it seems. To say you need nerves of steel just to parent is an understatement. With all of this, looking for the solid foundation is key, whether you are rooted in your faith, have a solid family connection, or have friends that have been with you through thick and thin, if you can’t find your strength you are not going to make it very long.

I was in the car today with a friend of mine. She has had such great loss in her life within the last few months, it’s amazing that she hasn’t gone crazy. I know she has her moments of grief and sorrow that overtake her, but she seems to find her strength again when she gives herself a purpose. So today she helped me with house calls. Tomorrow she will do things around the house, the next day after that she will keep going, she has her faith, she has her family and she has her will to keep moving forward. She knows what it means to appreciate what she did have, but knows that moving forward is part of healing.

Take time to have fun, to laugh. Don’t take life so seriously. Get together with friends and family. Bake some cookies and share them. Write a letter to someone. Get your head out of the book/or off the electronic device and talk to the other person in the room. Go to church. Sing a song. Dance in the rain or make a snow angel. If nothing else, when your pet’s favorite doctor comes back from her vacation, stop by and let her know it’s good to have her back. Until next time:

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.