Enlightening

Life is often what you make of it. You can wake up, get out of bed, go to work, do your job, come home, and get ready to do it all again, or you can take that minuscule extra amount of time it takes to do more, think, reflect, and learn something new each and every day, or if you're really lucky...maybe, just maybe, you can be blessed with a moment of enlightenment - when you realize that your outlook on things is now forever different than it was just a moment before.

This week has been especially stressful for me, but in (mostly) a good way. On Monday, I was given the opportunity to register DSL service and set up a wireless network for a small family. What makes their situation especially different is that they chose to get broadband Internet because the gentleman's wife was diagnosed with leukemia just two weeks ago, and in order for her to stay in touch with their 4 yr old daughter and 7 yr old son, they wanted to set up a web camera at the hospital and their home so she could see her kids and vice-versa.

As (bad) luck would have it, their dsl modem/router did not work initially (Mon - which is how I came to hear the story of what was transpiring). I exchanged it and tried again (Tues) to no avail. I called AT&T, which ran line tests, then scheduled and met with a technician to correct any issues (Wed). Their test modem worked just fine, but it was awkward that two brand new modems didn't work. I brought my own modem from home, which worked, and gave it to them (Thurs) and exchanged their modem for a router and set up their network (today, Fri). I helped them install their webcam and Skype, registering accounts so they could test it at home before bringing one of the laptops to the hospital. I can't describe what it meant to see their disappointment over several days when nothing seemed to work or go right, to seeing their relief, their excitement, their happiness and smiles knowing that they would be able to accomplish what they set out to do.

I was simply amazed...

...To watch the husband trying so hard to do everything, never stopping or slowing down - going to work, picking his kids up from pre-school and elementary school, getting them changed, making sure they did their homework, making sure they had dinner to eat, dealing with me and leaving for the hospital each evening (his parents came over and stayed with the kids overnight) to be with his wife, all while never once showing his kids the difficulty and sadness he must be experiencing. I can only hope I have the strength and determination to be that sort of husband whenever I do get married.

...To find out that no matter how many appointments I had scheduled, I could always find time to drive by and check in, and at the very least, let them know that they were still on my mind and that we would get it taken care of...that spending a few minutes of my time returning and exchanging items for them meant saving them hours driving back and forth when they had so much more important matters to take care of.

...To realize, yet again, that no matter how bad things are, someone always has it worse. To learn again that I should appreciate what I have and take a little bit of time out to show it. To see the strength of the human spirit, that when things seem like they can't get any worse...to know we can still come together, everyone doing their own small part to help someone else in need.

I didn't have the heart to say "Merry Christmas" and while on the verge of tears when leaving, I cried the entire way to my next appointment. My heart goes out to that family and their troubled times to come this holiday season, and knowing I can't do anything more than I have done is difficult to swallow. Knowing that my "busy" life can be so much more than it is motivates me, and as often is the case, I will redouble my efforts to make it so. Most importantly, I will make efforts to let those I do appreciate and value in my life know so, even if I am horrible at it - bear with me.

...We're often given the opportunity to see things from different perspectives, and while I definitely know how it feels to be that person in the hospital, often filled with self-pity because no one could possibly understand, other times worried about how everyone is coping...now seeing it from the other side and how it must feel being the family, unable to do anything to help is...Enlightening.