I have finally figured out what I like so much about the word position as the mother used to describe the situation I wrote about in my “Life is Good” blog last month. She told her son that they were fortunate to be in the position to be able to afford a replacement for the window a thief had broken to get into the boy’s car to steal a GPS.
It seems so clear to me now. The mother’s use of the word (of course) meant that they had not always been lucky enough to be in the position to have had that choice in the past. And like lots of us these days, this mother and son didn’t look like they had a spare $300 lying around to pay to replace his window. But the mom didn’t complain, instead she expressed gratitude. And the atmosphere in that waiting area seemed to vibrate because of her chosen mind-set.
This realization dawned on me recently, because something happened in my life to make me appreciate my position in life right now. My dad went into a Ft. Worth hospital for minor surgery, but which turned into major heart surgery that required almost a week of ICU, and will take several weeks for him to recover.
This is the first time in my dad’s 73 years to ever be hospitalized, so he’s not used to being cared for. But he’s had plenty of time in hospitals because he spent 20 years taking care of my ailing mom until her death two years ago. Her death occurred when I was at home in Alpine (8 hours away); at a time when my life was too busy to take off. I was by her side at the hospital for a couple of weeks, but because we thought her illness was temporary, I went back home to take care of my commitments.
I am feeling deep love for the word position right now, for I am oh-so-lucky to realize I am in the position in my life to drop what I’m doing to take care of my dad. But actually, my position is no different today than it was two years ago when my mom got sick her final time.
My life right now is no less busy or stressed than it was two years ago. But this time around I am blessed, because I know the change of my position is really just in my attitude. I feel grateful to be here. And that makes all the difference in the world.
