I’ve been fighting a few small injuries of late. But a couple of things are making me feel very appreciative of the health I have today. One is for a grandson of a brother from another mother as he likes to say. Kids facing medical challenges are just the toughest thing a parent and grandparent can face. The second one is an old co-worker who is fighting some very tough cancers. The third was a sister from another mother who was in the hospital. All these recent events make me give thanks that my family is good today and that I can easily move on from a few aches I have.

It also gives me the desire to think about these people regularly, to wish for their comfort both mentally and physically, and to check-in or act on something. And I think that something being I can’t see them is to make a charitable donation or two.

I’m blessed that life has always found a way to remind me to be appreciative of the health I have every day. When I was young and my father’s last stations at Bethesda Naval Hospital I saw troops coming back from Vietnam and going through surgeries and recoveries. I’d see these young men walking through the halls or in gurneys with nurses that had been maimed badly. And I remember my Mom holding my hand saying always remember there is always someone worse off than you.

It reminds me of a time a few years ago when I was feeling down. I was getting radiation treatments after the surgery didn’t get all the cancer. This young girl maybe 5 or 6 years old, hooked to a mobile tree of medicines hanging from it running into her sat across from me before we were called in for our treatments. She was so happy despite this. She had obviously been treated for a while already because her hair had gone but she was as proud as you can be. She was with her mother and she was so polite with her. She never stopped smiling. I wanted to say hello and ask her name but she was so busy with her Mom that I didn’t want to interrupt.

The courage of the child, enjoying life despite what looked to be very big challenges was something I will never forget.

Random Thoughts of the Day

• Every day I spend more time about thinking how to help others than myself, the happier I am.
• Congrats to my daughter’s alma matter Mount St Mary’s for getting to the Dance.
• I was letting isolation get the best of me lately but I’m snapping out of it.
• Working with wood is fun. I got a lot close to finishing a piece today.