I Beg To Differ

 

When my niece mentioned to my mother that I bought exhorbitantly expensive tickets to see Springsteen on Broadway this week, her comment was “At least she has one good thing in her life”.

My mother was devastated when I had a severe stroke at age 35 in the sixth month of pregnancy. It was a shock to everyone who knew me, but mothers have that special place of worry for their children. This was no doubt a severely traumatic event, but the facts are a)I lived, b) I delivered a healthy baby, c) I made a dramatic recovery. The recovery is not 100%. I have a permanent movement disorder that is limiting and causes chronic pain. The stroke definitely resulted in tremendous losses in my life. However, there were also gifts I received as a result that are difficult to quantify. My husband checked out of our marriage which was a loss and gain at the same time. My mother only sees it as I was left crippled and alone.

When I heard that mom thought going to a show was the one good thing in my life, I must wholeheartedly disagree. I’m sure I would have preferred for my central nervous system as well as my marriage to remain intact, but life deals its cards randomly. Forward is the only sure direction we can go. I enjoyed the show for sure, but it certainly was NOT the only good thing in my life. Unfortunately for my mom, she has trouble seeing the abundance in my world.

Having a stroke at a young age with 2 young children was a horrific event. Being able to continuously move forward and live life at as close to full throttle as possible with gratitude for all of it has brought many more good things into my life. I have two great grown, healthy sons, 2 beautiful homes, my own health, a luxury car, every material thing I could ever want, the ability to enjoy travel, horseback riding, and a new love.