The Choice to Laugh or Cry

I have learned in my short  44 year career as  a human being that there are a plethora of people, places and things that are completely, unequivocally and 100% beyond my control.  And as a  result, and after much repetition by my father, I know that one can plan, but one cannot plan the out come.  And I think that the events of this past September are proof positive that if I focus on all that goes wrong, I would simply crawl  under my covers and cry and miss out on a million possibilities.. Yet, by some miracle, I was able to rise above the self pity and self doubt and come out at the end laughing and with a story to tell.  

The following are the events of September 1- 30, 2014

• the family moved from Shelburne to Barrie, ON;  NUTS!
• the destruction of my daughters bed and the loss of the hardware for my bed; NUTS AND BOLTS!!
• a relapse of Multiple Sclerosis; NERVES!!!
• a delay in the hook up for our natural gas, resulting in 3 days of cold showers;  BRRR!!!!
• washing machine broke down, TWICE; GITCH!!!!!
• our car Daisy, gave her life in service of the family, right after I filled her gas tank; PETROL!!!!!!
• delay in receiving payments from an organization that is suppose to protect me from financial ruin; $#@*!!!!!!!
• delay in the receipt of proceeds from the sale of our house in Shelburne. $$$$$$!!!!!!!!

I will admit that I did have a couple of days of self pity, with fears of having to move to a piano box on Bayfield Street, peddling my last belongings to feed my children.  But more important, I chose not to stay there.

But after that time, I put myself on the right track.  I did this by realizing that the Universe may have orchestrated my situation, but it equally orchestrated the solutions.  

I have been blessed with friends and family that I would take into any battle, and never doubt that they have my back. I have not always felt this way, but this September, it was proof positive. 

• a platoon of friends showed  up at my door in Shelburne and Barrie to move all my stuff out of the old and into the new;
• I called my neurologists and was prescribed the appropriate treatment for my MS;
• a friend gave my daughter a bed, and I get an excuse to shop at IKEA;
• I called my property manager and our gas was connected;
• I called the property manager and our washer machine will get a new drainage pump;
• I took Daisy to a mechanic and it was determined that she was unfixable, RIP.  The office manager, Teresa, at Kempenfelt Auto Repair, called around and found a junk yard that is paying me 325$ to take her from me;
• I have filed all pertinent paperwork, to continue my monthly payments without delay; and
• and I believe a deal has been struck so that the funds from our house in Shelburne will be released. 

Through all this I was able to maintain a positive attitude.  I did not let myself stay in that worse case scenario. I put one foot in front the other.  And sometimes that is all the Universe expects us to do.  I laughed at the end of the month, not because the situation was funny, but because the other choice was to cry.  And crying would not change the situation.  But by taking the action that I could, I am getting a new bed, a new car, and 325$ at the end of all this.  

This was not the outcome that I planned, nor was it what I expected at the beginning of the month.  It teaches me that in that room full of horse manure, there has to be a pony somewhere.