Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Count the Wins or Count the Losses?

So is this cup half empty or half full?

As I've previously written and certainly more than once, our family has experienced an unrelenting slew of challenges and emergencies since the second half of 2021, enough that we often struggle to keep up with them and the rest of life.

I think that 2024, for many in my family, has just blurred past in discomfort and actual pain. It's hard to believe 2025 is on the horizon.

One day in October, while in the midst of several of these events, Rebekah and I waded through some very neglected BryonySeries paperwork. With the end of the year in sight - and having no idea what else might befall us, given the history - we had to address it.

As we backtracked through the entire year and recorded our successes, we finally paused and looked at each other, asking, "How?"

How did we have such a good "book" year when everything else (including us) was falling apart? 

On Saturday I received an award from the community for my features writing with my fiction works being acknowledged as well.  I was one of ten people being honored that evening, so the ceremony was several hours long.

I was also on Day Ten of some of the worst and absolutely unrelenting back pain that I've ever experienced. And it definitely showed in my eyes in the "selfie" Timothy took of us at the end of the event.

But when I'm passed this challenge as well (as I'm sure I shall be - because I'm not at the time of this writing), I'll remember the event more than the pain.

So our really horrible year wasn't completely horrible. We just can't feel those facts yet.

Obviously, no one is going to feel elation when going through health emergencies and grief.

And yet - blessings are often interwoven among the thorns. And when the storm passes, it's nice to see the rainbows.

So is this cup half empty of half full?

Should I be sad I only have half a cup left to drink?

Or should I be happy because I have drunk deeply of really good coffee - and I still have half left to enjoy?



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