Heavy Perspective

Remember my string of happy, happy posts back in August. Man oh man, life at the end of summer was glorious: good weather, good friends, good food from the garden. Things in September have been a little more emotionally challenging. It's not that I haven't enjoyed myself; I have. But, there's been a lot of change: Benny started school, I got busy with work (as busy I can be at part-time) and Lila turned TWO! Whoa. How did that happen? On top of all that change, Nate and I have been a bit "off" lately. For anyone in a serious relationship, you know what I mean. We're both busy with kids and jobs and life and sometimes we forget to nurture our own relationship. It's not bad, but it's certainly not as good as it could be.

Well, I received a bit of a wake-up call last night: A "Hey, lady, your life isn't so bad" kind of wake-up call. You see, a former student of mine (check that, one of my favorite students) was in a bike accident one month ago yesterday. This young woman is a teacher's dream: Engaged, articulate, interesting, smart, passionate. She taught me as much as I taught her - and challenged me even more. Not only that, but she's a lovely individual. We had kept in touch after our classes together ended. When I received the news about her accident, it weighed on my heart.

Laura is an avid biker. She doesn't own a car, but bikes EVERYWHERE. She was a big motivator for me to hop back on my bike and take bike commuting more seriously.

Last night, I finally scheduled a trip to see her at the hospital. It was wonderful to see her and meet her amazing parents. She has come a long way in one short month. She's talking and doing a bit of walking now. She hasn't regained her short-term memory yet, but her care team is confident that it will all come back. It's been inspirational to read about her progress on CaringBridge.

The whole situation reminds me daily about how fragile life is. At the same time, it reminds me that I can't live in fear for myself or for my children. Accidents do happen and people do recover. Every once in awhile, it's good to remember that my life is good and happy and worthwhile. I am lucky.

If you have an extra minute today, will you please send some positive vibes to Colorado for Laura? She deserves to be enveloped in love from near and far.