The Fragility of Life

Certain events remained us of the fragility of life--sometimes they are personal events and sometimes they are events outside of our normal life.

This week the two converged for our family.

I have a daughter with three life-threatening medical conditions. Most of the time I don't give them a thought, but when she gets sick she gets so sick so quickly I am reminded of her fragility. She is slowly recovering from a throat infection that soon extended into her main bronchus and further into her lungs.

The tsunami that hit the northeast coast of Japan remind us in the fragility of life in a less personal way. At least it is less personal for our family. For the families living or losing loved ones through this tragedy, it is very personal. As we watch horrifying images streaming in I realize for some, less than six minutes was all it took for lives to be consumed by the voracious hunger of a cruel wave.

What are you doing to take care of you and yours?

Lessons my middle daughter taught me...

You have taught us a lot about strength.

            Your first demonstration of this was your fight for life. With every tiny ounce of your being, you fought to live before your open-heart surgery. You have continued to fight for life with each diagnosis.

            You’ve taught us how to be strong in seeking the best for you.

You have shown us that initiative and drive are not solely granted to the most gifted. You repeatedly demonstrate these qualities, plus you demonstrate sensitivity. You are always the first to respond to another’s pain in our family.

You have taught us it is foolish to take anything for granted. We have an obligation to ourselves to explore every opportunity given us. 

You have repeatedly shown us examples that “retarded is not stupid, mom.”

You have an uncanny ability to separate the wheat from the chaff—showing us what is really important: life, love and happiness.

You create your own happiness, not depending on others. You are an excellent example of living in the ‘here and now’—better than anyone else we know. Your lack of worry about the past or the future is sometimes a real blessing.

Some might consider you 'simple', but those of us who know you, love you all the more for what you give to us. 

You are a daily reminder of unconditional love. You love all of us no matter how flawed we might be.

You remind us that we can govern our own happiness, especially when you tell us, "Guess what? I'm so happy." 

Thank you for being you. You have enriched all of our lives.

Starting all over again

I managed to complete a manuscript, first draft, a second run through, spotting some things that needed to be brought forward, fleshing out some other spots. Send the manuscript to my CP and wait. Wow, she was speedy with the return and then there is the next run through. Having a CP that works fast, sees the things I missed and makes salient points is a blessing.

But now comes the hard part. The waiting. Does anyone like this part?

Since I had an extra day off today (thank you broken water main) I used the time to clean up the MS, complete the synopsis and query letter and out the door. Off on the wings of the ethernet. Feeling extra energetic. I cleaned up another MS that was just waiting for reformatting and I managed to get that one out the door, too, today to another publisher.

Does that make the waiting easier? Harder? Or no different?

Two out the door means I need to start on a new project--at least I have several files with some research completed. New promises, new beginnings...

It is time to start all over again.