It's all about the perspective

The road less traveled. Or maybe it is all about perspective.
I have been blessed with a mostly "glass half full" attitude in life. Truth be known, I'm a "glass pretty much overflowing" kind of person. I have such a hard time grappling with people who are "mostly empty" people. Or how about the "My cup is so dry it is likened to the Sahara Desert" kind of folks.
What is your take on life?
I like knowing that hard times will come along in life but surely there is a silver lining somewhere. In 1990 my grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was a tried and true Kentucky back hills hillbilly kind of woman. You want cornbread? She was a magic maker when it came to cornbread. Soup beans? Magic at work again. Pie with a fantastic crust? Yep. She also grew up in one of the more harsh areas in America. Poverty. Hard days of work and labor that spent ones energy. Canning foods because if they didn't, then the family would all starve over the winter. When grandma married, she married an alcoholic. That 'ol coot loved him some moonshine. Of course it was abundant in Kentucky. Her husband was also abusive. He'd hit her when he was drinking. She endured many a hard day in her life. My grandpa died before I was born so I never knew him. I did know my grandma though. For all of her shortcomings, she was good to me. I have the best memories of her from my younger days, before life gets complicated with growing up.
One thing I will always remember is her ability to go through hard times and not complain. All the years she was sick with cancer she never once complained. She'd go through chemotherapy and lose her hair. No complaints. She had a mastectomy. No complaints. She just kept right on going like it was a blip in the road. I think that her younger days must have taught her how to endure hardship. She might have been keeping things in her mind, but I sure never saw any display of anger or bitterness. Even when she was dying I never once saw her complain or carry on about the injustice of it all. Sores in the mouth. Pain from cancer taking over. Vomiting. Never a complaint.
Now, eight years ago (plus or minus a little) my dad was diagnosed with colon cancer. He also has been blessed with the same kind of attitude. I could tell of the difficulties he has had in his life too. He grew up under this same man who was abusive to my grandma. He lived with him and learned from him. Somehow my grandma's attitude must have worn off on him because he is also not a complainer. He just went through his 5th surgery for cancer and of course there was fear. Who would't be a little concerned or fearful of what they are going to find. He didn't say it so much, but that nagging feeling is there. Lurking and waiting to come in and take over. Did it take over and exhibit itself as we were gathered around him before surgery? Nope. In fact we were all laughing and joking before he went in. You never know what you'll get when you go into surgery. Would they open him up and see cancer everywhere and decide to close him? So while we waited for him to get through the surgery, there it was: THE FEAR. And being me, I'm thinking about what is there to get all worked up about when you can't do one thing about it. You must simply take what comes. Of course I didn't want to have the doctor come out 20 minutes after starting surgery to tell us that it was over. Who in the world wants that?
My dear father came through surgery just fine. Of course this was a serious surgery. He has a new device that he gets to use now. That device will make it much easier for him to actually be able to go out into public. It will make it so much more pleasant for him because for years he has had issues with needing to go to the bathroom and at the most inconvenient times. He has had to miss out on grandkids events. He has not been able to go and see ballet concerts, soccer games, Christmas concerts ~ who wants to miss out on that stuff???
And true to my dad, as Josh and I were visiting him on Sunday in the hospital, his new little contraption started working, with us present! He has not lost one ounce of his humor in all of this. He referred to his colostomy bag as his "turd bag". Now that might gross some of you out and you'll black list this blog right now, but for those who know me and who have been blessed to know my dad, you will understand that humor is what often takes us through hard times.
I have been blessed with a "cup is overflowing" kind of mind and as I reflect on life and those who were part of making me who I am, I see that I somehow inherited that lovely trait.
But the best news in all of this is that even while I was typing up this post I received a text telling me that my fathers surgeon had visited him this morning in his room. My dad has been waiting for his tumor test results since his surgery last Tuesday. Apparently Dr. Arnold came in with quite the smile on his face and he then proceeded to announce that my dad had ZERO cancer cells in any of his blood counts, lymph nodes, or in the tumor!! To say we are excited is a bit of an understatement. That means that I will have more time to enjoy his humor!
So as you go through life, take the time to enjoy the silver lining. It might be hard to find sometimes, but it is there.