As I have mentioned before on my Cancer Journey Blog, I
consider each day I wake up to be a gift, and try to squeeze the most joy I can
out of each one.
This week, my gift arrived in a “family size” package,
labeled “the Hander’s”. Shown in the photo at left, taken at Space Center
Houston, are my son, Jonathan, and his family. Left to right are: Austin (age
9), Jonathan, Ashley (age 7), Christine, and me.
They drove down to Texas from their home in Westford,
Massachusetts, stopping first in Dallas to see old friends, then in Kerrville
for a family reunion with Jonathan’s dad’s family, and last in League City to
stay for a few days with me.
As with most vacation visits, we tried our best to cram as
many activities as we could into each day—but my energy level now isn’t quite
up to par. Even my son, who typically works 12-hour days on his job as an
engineer, was feeling the drain of their two-week whirlwind tour, and stretched
out one afternoon in my recliner for a lengthy nap.
I longed to do the same, but was torn by the conflict of coordinating
our activities and spending the most time I could with them during their short
visit versus a timeout for much-needed rest.
“Get some sleep,” said my wise daughter-in-law, Christine. “Then
we’ll just wake up and see what happens.”
I guess her Master’s degree in Family Counseling has paid
off—not to mention the fact that she cut to the chase with some plain old common
sense. Thank you, Christine!
And I won’t ever forget her advice. What a wonderful philosophy
for life! For the most part, planning is a good thing—a necessary thing. But
sometimes it’s a lot more fun to just wake up and see what happens!
Take a chance! Surprise yourself!
