When you reach a certain age or you happen to exceed what you feel is an exorbitant number of unlucky life events you begin to understand some things about life.  You realize that life is full; full of amazing and wonderful experiences laced with many challenges along the way.

Our middle daughter seems to be on the fast track of learning that life can sometimes feel as though you are being tossed bag after bag of lemons.  She is getting weary from trying to make so much lemonade.
Recently, the love of her life, her dog Ella, went to the vet to be spayed.  The surgery went off without a hitch.  Two days later things started to go downhill.  Ella refused to eat or drink and began vomiting.  On Sunday (it’s always a Sunday when you have an emergency), she took her to the emergency vet.  After some X-rays, it was discovered that sweet Ella had apparently eaten something and she had a blockage.  It was determined that she would need emergency surgery to remove whatever happened to be in her stomach.  To add insult to injury, the surgery was going to cost more than her car was worth and way more than Sydney had in her bank account. Fortunately, she has overdraft protection in the form of her parents and she was able to secure an interest-free loan.

The surgeon assured Sydney that he did this everyday and that Ella would be fine.  Two hours later the surgeon called with the news that Ella had eaten a sock and a pair of underwear, but they had not reached her intestines so that was a small victory. Two weeks later, Ella is recovering nicely and the difficult part is keeping her down until she is completely healed.

When Sydney moved a thousand miles from home shortly after graduation she had a dream and she was determined to not let life get in the way.  It seemed simple at 18.  At the ripe old age of 20, she has learned that all the crazy that happens IS life. She has been broken down on the side of the road and driven home by a police officer, been involved in a hit and run accident, been to the ER, had a root canal and is on her third roommate.  She has also been to Europe twice, has a boyfriend, a dog, a great place to live, she writes music almost every day, has a studio in her house, she has taught herself to cook amazing dishes, she is starting to perform her music out more often and she just got a new job.  She has grown up a lot the last two years. By most standards her life looks pretty fantastic and it is, but it has its challenges just like all of us.

We all have times when our circumstances feel overwhelming and life threatens to crush us.  This is when we need to find our strength and perspective.  We need to surround ourselves with positive people who understand life can be tough, but also worth the journey.  Don’t call Pollyanna who believes life is just full of sunshine.  Call the person who can love you through the pain, but won’t enable you to stay in that place.  Call the person who can see the light and knows where the shovel is so you can start digging.  This person will also be the one who shows up at your door to help you when you start to tire because they know if you dig deep enough you will find your will to keep going, your strength, and yes, some perspective.

Sunshine & Sarcasm,
Lowi & G