My eighty-four-year-old mother sat down next to me and summed up my life. It was her state of the union address only it was my union. She pointed out some strengths but didn't hesitate to throw in the hot chili pepper burn of my weaknesses. I love that she acted on her motherly instincts and gave me a wellness check. Yet, it was puzzling.
She began speaking without me having an inclination as to what was on her mind, so it surprised me when she said, "You are physically strong. You're active, and you eat really well. However, you have a weakness for sugar. But that's okay, if I can't have a cookie when I want it, well then, life's not worth living."
I made a mental note to lighten up on sugar intake. If it were important enough for her to mention, I needed to not only listen but to act.
Her positive observations meant a lot too. I've been pondering the reasons why I eat well and get plenty of exercise.
Yes, I eat healthy. I am vegetarian. I don't drink soda. I focus on vegetables and fruits. After picking all the organic, no pesticide, raspberries from my patch, I made raspberry vinagrette, and raspberry muffins from scratch. I had homemade, yellow lentil soup and salad for lunch. I ate pasta and roasted almonds for an afternoon snack, a raspberry, banana, almond milk, milk shake for a post breakfast snack.
For dinner, I had ice cream.
Oops.
Not my regular dinner, but Jenny's was on sale and Tony bought a few pints.
I had small portions, so I in part listened to my mother.
Today, I biked with Tony to the canyon and back (on an e-bike), swam, and cut back overgrown ivy in the courtyard garden. My body is sore, but the satisfying kind of sore.
My ponderings led me back to when I was twelve years old. One night, I was throwing up and so ill, my parents rushed home from a trip. We met our family doctor at his office. He checked me over and told my parents to take me to the hospital.
It was a whirl.
My body was partially paralyzed, and after a few days I was diagnosed with a strange, rare, auto-immune disease named Henoch-Schönlein purpura.
After tremendous pain, a ghastly body rash, the inability to walk, my health returned. But... there was the possibility of kidney damage, so for the next year, I was in the hospital again and again.
My kidneys were in danger, so at a young age, I took on a holistic approach. I ate asparagus, drank lots of water, and eliminated all possible strains on kidneys, one of which was supposedly soda.
At the time, the disease was a tragedy. My parents were worried. I missed several months of school. But after my mom's talk and the pondering that followed, I see how at a young age, I tried to protect my kidneys. Today, I see the disease as a turning point, and in respect to the big picture, a blessing. Yet when I was suffering, it was impossible to fathom how it might serve my needs in the future.
A woman named Corinne Clark was interviewed for the "All In" podcast. She was diagnosed with cancer, but learned some remarkable things from the journey. Faced with the real prospect of dying, she took on new appreciation for life and living that life.
One of her profound remarks was that she wasn't going to waste her cancer.
She was going to take that cancer, wrestle it, learn from it, triumph over it. The suffering would not be in vain. It changed her life. It changed her family's lives.
It's given me a new perspective.
What was once seen as a sad event in my life, was actually a catalyst for change that brought long-term health benefits. I didn't waste my affliction.
Just ask my mom.
The old adage, "It was a blessing in disguise" may have more truth than I ever knew.
Comments