Life Is What Happens… (While You’re Busy)

Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.

John Lennon (“Beautiful Boy” lyrics)

As last Tuesday’s deadline for my next blog post approached, I had several ideas for new music and creative writing ideas. And then the text came.

Needless to say, I left immediately for the E.R.

Life Is Real

I know my wife to be a very resilient and powerful person. True to form, she presented a stalwart front. But when I got to the hospital emergency room, it was obvious that the break was a bad one.

Clearly, her left arm near the hand was deformed by the break. It was not even close to the straight line that I could see stretching from her right elbow. (You’ve probably guessed that I was worried.)

She was in so much pain that the wait in the E.R. seemed to last for ages. (They were very busy, so we were in the waiting room for over two hours.) Once she got a room, the staff worked diligently to determine what could be done immediately. They put her arm in a splint and forwarded the initial X-rays to the best wrist orthopedic surgeon in the area.

Life Is Twisty

As it happens, I already knew that life can be twisty. But in the busyness of day-to-day, it can also be easy to forget. That text message and all that followed were stark reminders.

Sometimes, when these twists happen, there’s nothing to do but settle into dealing with what’s right in front of me. Since I value my relationship and love my wife, that became my focus for the next few days. Even practicing for my upcoming gigs went by the wayside.

One of the ways that I focused on this was to share the news of my wife’s wrist break with friends and family. Naturally, they offered support in many different ways: prayers, sending healing energy, bringing over flowers and food, and many other avenues.

Life Angles and Angels

I can feel the tears well up in my eyes thinking of all the people who have offered moral support from near and far. Our distant friends have prayed, sent cards, wished us well on social networks, and so much more. Family has been on the edge of their seats waiting for updates on her recovery.

Local friends have been pure angels. Yes, we know so many beautiful souls on the planet. And dozens of them have provided genuine and tangible forms of aid. We are so grateful.

Life Happens

When life happens, even creative projects and self-imposed deadlines take a back seat. This is why there was no weekly post on my blog last week and very little progress on my practicing for a variety of gigs that have now (already) happened.

Be ready. Life is twisty. And beautiful.