Sometimes life throws you curveballs. You go about your day and suddenly, something unexpected happens and you’re forced to sink or swim. Afterwards, you can choose to reflect on what happened and learn from it, or you can push it into the deep recesses of your mind and go on your merry way.
This Father’s Day weekend, my father-in-law was in the hospital, needed emergency surgery and had to be in the ICU. It was not only stressful and caused us to worry, but for me, it also revived a frightening memory of when I was at the hospital with my father who passed away. No way could this happen to both my dads!
Today, I feel incredibly thankful for his daily recovery, good medical care at the hospital, and our ability to be with him during this time.
I learned from the two experiences that I am not a bystander when a loved one is in the hospital. I make sure I understand the process and communicate with the doctors. I also learned that when you think there is nothing you can do, there is a power in prayers and being surrounded by loved ones.
This brings me to this weekend’s family shoot. I have known The C Family for about two decades. (I had their shoot on my calendar for many months and decided not to tell them about my father-in-law until right before we were leaving as to not worry them.) As expected, our time together was a breath of fresh air. Watching Marissa coloring with her mom in the warm breeze, Sam cuddling with her puppy, Alex and his father racing each other, and the kids catching bubbles IN THEIR MOUTHS reminded me that life, though rough at times, is about togetherness and that happiness, when stripped down, is made up of “small” things.
I love this family. I am so lucky to call them my friends. And I hope that when things get busy and life throws me more curveballs, I will remember to take a page from their book… and eat bubbles. 🙂
