Sometimes life is hectic. It’s funny how life is a lot like the sea, it ebbs and flows and sometimes the waves are great and other times things are calm. It is inevitable that things change and there are cycles.
It is easy to look at life, not going according to plan and complain. I know I do my share of that. More than my share to be honest. But I’m in good health, my mind is sound, and I have people who care about me, even if all the circumstances of my life are not ideal.
Pop was stuck in the memory care unit of a care facility, which meant he was on lockdown most of the time to keep him from wandering and getting lost. He wasn’t confined to his room or anything, in fact the people there loved him and took great care to include him in activities and try to make sure he was happy. He had daily visits from family too, but he didn’t have the same freedom that he was used to.
Gone were the days of freely strolling around the neighborhood passing out roses. His daily visits to the hair salon or to visit with the neighbors at the mortuary (sounds stranger than it was). When he was put in a wheelchair after a fall, that didn’t improve things.
Even though things were changing, and not for the better Pop rarely complained. His complaints were usually because he didn’t understand why he didn’t get to go home with me. He had a number of reasons to gripe about his life, but he didn’t.
What he usually did was thank me for coming to see him. He told me he was grateful for all the things I did for him. He thanked the people around him, and made them smile. If he could do all that, then what do I really have to complain about anyway?