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Not a Newsletter!

There is an old saying that the prospect of hanging tends to focus one’s mind. The same may be said of serious illness. While it is no fun to experience, things seem to flow from a medical emergency which might otherwise be missed as we waltz through the dance of life.

This has not been Betty’s year. Depressed by a world of violence and religious hatred, discouraged by a political establishment that would scare the bejabers out of a hun and hounded by periodic health problems, she surrendered to the medical establishment who promptly, and with considerable skill, removed various and sundry organs, stapled her back together and returned her to me. She scared us both into thinking the good old days were about to end - and, in a sense, they did. What we seem to have now are some better new days, where a renewed appreciation of just about everything around us is truly astonishing. We are focused. We are, in every sense of the word, alive!

I survived cancer a few years ago and its lingering effect on me was profound. Betty, in turn, is a “whole new person.” Friends sometimes don’t recognize her (perhaps it’s because she changes the way she does her hair every twenty minutes). However, she hasn’t lost the enthusiasm and the bubbles that have been her hallmark. She has merely added a new dimension. She seems more centered and more in control of her life. The house has never looked more beautiful. Modifications that were on our “someday maybe” list, became important to get on with. Although the changes have been modest, the effect is quite amazing. We seem to exist in a new environment that warms the heart wherever you look.

More importantly Betty is experiencing what I experienced ten years ago: friends, old and new, have been moving back from the very edges to the very center of our life. We bask in their warmth, friendship and love.

Losing your health, even temporarily, is truly a bummer. But the positive, wonderful, unexpected effects such lousy experiences have on one’s spirit have made us truly appreciate the wonder and symmetry of life.

We are tempted to wish you all ill health in the coming year, but we won’t.

Happy Holidays!

Betty and Stan

Home > Stories > True Holiday Miracles > An Ominous Turn 2003