THE AMAZING BIONIC MAN

Do you remember that commercial on television about The Energizer Bunny who just keeps ticking because he is fully charged with an Energizer battery? Well, I equate B to that same Energizer Bunny. He is the Amazing Bionic Man who has surgeries and just springs back better than ever. Perhaps you remember when I posted this photo of the implant he had placed in his finger.

 Or this photo of the knee replacement he had a while back when his knee was really bothering him. All those years of climbing trees for a living started taking their toll on his body and the pain was no longer an option.

Fast forward to last Friday, November 16. We had spent the entire week doing things around the house that we have been putting off because we watch our granddaughter every day. It's pretty hard to devote time to her and also to the house so we choose the one that's the most important: the granddaughter. 

Our community has a great program where they let you bring pine needles to the transfer station FOR FREE and they will haul them away for you. It alleviates the smoke that seems to linger in the air and I don't really want to contribute to air pollution any more than I have to. But, they are only open Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. So Friday was our planned day to load up all the needles we had raked from the previous storm and haul them in the trailer and pick-up truck. Everything was loaded except for 4 last piles at the very end of the property on our way out.

We stopped, B got out (I stayed in the truck waiting) and he started to pick them up and throw them into the bed of the truck and trailer. All of a sudden I heard him yell. When I opened up the door and asked him what was wrong, he said that he had fallen and he needed help. I went to the rear of the pick up and looked and by the grimmace on his face I knew that something was really wrong. He proceeded to tell me that he thought that he had broken his leg. He had tripped over the tongue of the trailer and came down with all his weight on the left leg. I ran to my neighbor's, called 911 and waited for the fire truck and paramedics to arrive. Soon, the ambulance arrived and they loaded him up on the gurney and took him to the ER. Hours later, he was told that yes, he had indeed broken his hip and would need an entire hip replacement. (Not a very good photo of the hip but I think you can see the break)

I am always amazed at how quickly things can change. You can never be prepared for what in one second can change an entire life, an entire week or day, or plans that you had made for the coming week. Nothing in life is ever guaranteed. So we have to grab every moment we can and appreciate those around us while we are in the moment. As I have said before (and heard so many times before) we only have NOW. How clearly that was made to me on Friday.

Moments like this really make you keenly aware of who in your life is really important to you and who really cares about you. We have received so many phone calls from friends that would be here in a moment's notice if we needed them. Of that I am sure. And we have received emails and messages on Facebook from people all over too, not just close by. Friends in Australia, on the east coast, in Oregon. These are people who really care because they took the time to make a phone call or send me a message. That is all it really takes. A couple of seconds out of a life to really give of yourself. 

Life is all about choices, isn't it!! We can choose to be kind and thoughtful, we can choose to be silent, we can choose to share our love and our friendship or we can choose to hold grudges and perpetuate the hatred and animosity that has come before us. When I watch current events on television it is so painfully obvious to me about how easy it is to just quit fighting, love one another, and not be greedy or hateful. The little children that I see being carried out of bombed buildings make makes it so obvious to me. 

I think of all the things in life that we all choose to argue and fuss about: politics, religion, money, land, employment, material things...how important are ANY of these things if you don't have a life to enjoy them? Going through this emergency with B has made me painfully aware of how unnecessary it is to "fuss and fight". 

Remember that Beattle's song where the lyrics say: Life is very short and there's no time, for fussing and fighting my friend. Just a few short words in a song that make such a poignant statement. Why waste so much time when in a second everything can be taken away from you? Why not make that phone call, send a card, write that letter, send an anonymous gift while you have the time? This is the month for being thankful. 

On Thursday we will all celebrate Thanksgiving. Why not only be thankful but also exercise the second part of the word and be giving? We only have this one life (and sometimes we are only given one chance) to really make a difference. My friend Lela has been gone for a few years now (November 18) and she helped me in more ways that I can ever say in words. I am thankful for the friendship that she showed me all my life and B's accident on Friday has helped me remember what is really important to me. You can't just hope that people know you care: you have to show you care. The Amazing Bionic man has made this painfully clear to me. I have the X-ray to prove it!!