Maybe as a Redhead?

Adversity is an interesting catalyst. Without it, life would have no motion. Admittedly, every one of us would rather avoid it all cost, smooth sail through the journey, but without challenge, how would you know your strength? Can a bodybuilder boast without lifting the weight? Nope.

Yesterday I received some bad news & then some good news, on a day that started perfectly, then ended horribly. This is sometimes just how it goes kids. To say that I laughed & I cried, would be a cliché, but true. It was our 2 year anniversary & I woke up to a beautiful love letter commemorating the journey. That afternoon my little Sweet Potato, who already lives with Chronic Renal Failure, was diagnosed with a severe kidney infection & had to be admitted to the veterinary clinic for intensive antibiotic treatment. On my way home to gather her things, I checked the mail & was thrilled to find my long-delayed tax refund check, complete with interest from the delay! When has the IRS ever paid interest?!? Score! Then came the call from the vet with my snugglebug’s test results, CRF wasn’t enough for this over-achiever, she had diabetes too. Two chronic conditions that each require completely different daily medications, medications that Optima doesn’t cover…because they don’t cover pets, the heartless bastards.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted. So the evening was sacrificed to a therapeutic pity party & serious consideration of the ramifications of health insurance fraud. How hard would it be to get her a social security number? Could I live on the lam as a blonde? Sadly no, I am a hideous blonde.

Forever & a day ago I opened a cheesy email forward that gave the simple message, you have a choice everyday. Choose to be happy; choose to make it a good day. With that armor, I have lived my life & so I started making choices. Some were hard, I really like the new curtains I bought this weekend, but they cost the equivalent of Sweet Potato’s current bill. Other choices were easy, she is the longest continuous positive relationship of my life, and I will fight for her so long as she has fight left.

Thinking of it this way, considering the challenge & the path to overcoming it, creating a plan, made me feel so much more in control. I realized that I was thankful for the many blessings I had to help me along. A flexible work life that pays well, a supportive significant other, caring friends, an outstanding veterinary team & last but not least my own ability to see past the gloom to a realistic happy & healthy future. Without the experience of conquering past challenges, I would not have the confidence to face this one, or the many I’m sure are to come. So while I count the obvious positives in my life as blessings, I quietly offer thanks for those past adversities.

While I would much rather not have to deal with this current obstacle, I will. Because it is just an obstacle, not a road block, not unless I sit down & give up. But as luck would have it, God gave me the ability to make good choices & I will not waste the blessings he has given me, in any form in which they may arise.