It’s been a very long time since I’ve been ill, but I am. Yesterday Tracy and I were invited to Bob and Diane Varner’s home to celebrate Diane’s birthday. We began with a hike at Montara Mountain and it is one of the very best ways to celebrate a birthday! I was happy to be able to meet some of her closest friends and as I have marveled about this past year, my world again got larger.
But about halfway into the evening, I began to get a chill, the kind that makes your teeth chatter. I knew immediately that I had a fever, as the last time I had a chill like last night’s was when I had a serious leg wound and nothing could make me warm. So I told Tracy that we needed to head home and being the kind of person she is, she took care of me and worried as is natural for someone who is close to another.
But the real point of this musing is appreciation. I pride myself in appreciating each day, with the goal that as I lay my head down each night, I have no regrets. And I’m proud to say that most nights, I have a restful and regretless slumber. But I discovered yesterday and today something I take for granted – my own health. I thought today of those who feel poorly and specifically my own uncle Harvey who continues to battle cancer and is faced with the reality of his end. How must that feel to know that your own days are coming close to the end? And how difficult must it be to not feel ‘like yourself’ during those last days?
I have been reminded to give thanks for my health whenever I lay my head down each night.
