A Bad Day with Rays of Sunshine

I thought today might be the first day that I didn't blog.  I even told my mom that I just didn't think I had it in me today.  She said that I should at least write a little blurb and say that sometimes life just happens and everyone has bad days.  But as I was driving away from the Emergency Room with my mended son, I started to reflect on the positives that happened today.  That's what this blog is about......finding the good in EVERY day, even days that at first glance don't look like they'd have any ray of sunshine in them.

I had been shopping at a local mall when I got a call from my husband telling me that the ski patrol at Hyland Ski & Snowboard called to say that our son had broken his wrist and we needed to bring him to the doctor.  My stomach sank.  My son just bought all new gear and has been so excited about hitting the terrain park.  I could just picture his face - the ultimate picture of sadness.  

I drove the 40 minutes to get my son alternating between tears and a quiet resolve that it would all be fine.  When I got to the park, the security guard pointed me to the parking spot labeled "Parking for Patient Pick Up Only".  The security guard was fabulous.  She knew I was worried but she reassured me that he had been well taken care of and she could personally attest to that since she had visited with for almost an hour while waiting for me. 

When I found my son, he wasn't alone.  Besides being one of many "patients", he was sitting with one of his friends.  That friend missed out on some great snowboarding time to sit with my son so he didn't have to be there all alone.  What a super friend!

On the way to urgent care, my son told me how great the ski patrol was.  How they joked with him to keep him calm and did a fantastic job of immobilizing his wrist.  I felt an overwhelming sense of thankfulness for those strangers who took such wonderful care of my child.

The receptionist, nurse, doctor and x-ray technician at urgent care were all gentle with my son's wrist and so kind to the both of us.  The doctor brought us into a room to show us the x-rays so we could better understand what was wrong.  He spoke directly to my son and treated him with such respect.  I felt relieved that my son was in such good hands even though those were hands that couldn't help us.  His break was too severe for urgent care so they sent us on to the emergency room.

The emergency room was no exception.  The nurses and doctors were awesome.  They made my son comfortable - made sure the pain was tolerable.  They got him to smile and they made me laugh.  Even though the news wasn't great, we left feeling glad that there were so many people who came into our lives today who blessed us with their kindness, their care, their concern their friendliness. 

Even my daughter brought a little sunshine.  She was so worried about her big brother.  This is what he saw the minute he walked in the door.

After dropping my son off at home I had to run to Target to get his prescription for pain medication.  I knew that the pharmacy would be closing really soon but I was hoping I could at least drop off the prescription and pick it up in the morning.  When I got there, they were closing up so I asked the clerk if I could still just drop off the prescription.  The pharmacist was there too and overheard our conversation.  She asked to see the prescription.  I told her I wasn't expecting her to fill the prescription tonight but could she point me to an over the counter medication that would get us through the night.  She laughed and said that of course she would fill his prescription....he needed to be comfortable overnight and she would definitely take the time to fill the prescription.  I started to cry.  How could so many people who don't know us, give us the care and concern of people who've known us forever?

So you see.......even though I'm sitting here emotionally and physically exhausted from a not so joyful day, there were many rays of sunshine that brightened our cloudy day!

"Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight.  Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward.  Your life will never be the same again."  -Og Mandino