It is one of the beautiful compensations in this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
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| A rose blooming in Patty's front garden... in January! |
I have just returned from a week-long trip to Florida where I visited my oldest and dearest friend Patty. She had a total knee replacement a week ago, and I was going down to help her recover. I spent the week mostly sitting with her gossiping and discussing all manner of girlish topics. We watched a little TV, we went to her physical therapy sessions together. We laughed and knitted and even cried a little. I helped her cheer up when she got discouraged, reminded her to do her exercises and kept her ice packs coming.
In return I had an expense-paid trip to Florida in the middle of a cold Indiana winter. We went out to eat (thanks to Patty's husband, a most generous man!) every day. And I witnessed someone who was more determined to recover from her surgery than anyone I've ever seen. She worked incredibly hard at her PT, pushing herself every time with a steely jawed look, and sometimes even tears. Her physical therapist called her "an over achiever" and even I had to caution her to moderate her regimen a little.
What I am getting at here, beside expressing my admiration for Patty's determination in the face of a lot of pain, is that I went down there to help her, and I did. But I came home with more-- a gift (or "compensation" as in the quote above) of an experience that I will carry with me always and use as a wonderful example of how to face adversity. Simply put, I must remember to ask for help.
Thank you, my Bestest Buddy... for your fine example to me of how to face pain, suffering, and adversity. I hope when I must face these-- and we all will-- I can do it with the same determination to recover that you showed me this week. And I hope I remember to ask for help!!
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