It is officially less than a week until my surgery and it’s constantly on my mind. Whether I’m thinking about what I need to do to prepare the house, or get the kids ready to go back to school or make sure that I have the right clothes for recovery, there is always something to think about that is connected to my surgery.
There is so much to do to prepare for surgery. Surprisingly very little of what is going through my mind actually has to do with the surgery itself or how it will change my life. I have a list of must do’s, should do’s and want to do’s before surgery. Most of these to-do’s are related to chores and errands, things to get done. Maybe I should just let some of these to-do’s go or I could have someone help. However the mere idea of someone else going through my Everest size pile of laundry that needs to be done makes me cringe. How did I let the laundry turn into a mountain? There are so many other silly chores that I have on my list, like cleaning out my closet, and the junk drawer and rearranging the kitchen cupboards. I may actually be a little bit more Monica Gellar than I’d like to admit. Maybe if my house is in order, tidy and neurotically organized I would be able to relax. Maybe coming home and recovery will be easier and go smoothly. Maybe and more likely it helps me to focus on my surgery without actually dealing with my surgery and mourning my loss.
There have been projects that are worthy of my time and energy. Projects that truly are necessary or at the very least helpful for our family and for me. Back to school shopping and preparations, planning school lunches, haircuts, a major Costco run and a little home renovation. Yep, that’s right, in preparation for my surgery and for back to school my husband and I spent the better part of a week (the first and only time our kids have every been away from us overnight) doing a home renovation project, well more like 2 projects. Our boys have shared a room for 3 years and we split them up into their own rooms. Zachary is 9 and Noah is 6, they are best buddies but they are distinctly different personalities and have very different interests, so in hopes of giving them a bit more personal space and making sure that the little one is getting enough sleep for school we made the split. What a project! It was a lot of hard work, but so much fun for my husband and I to do together and provide amazing new rooms for our boys, giving them something fun and positive to be excited about. (Here are the before and after pictures.)
It was so special to see the excitement and joy as we showed the boys their rooms and as they’ve spent the last few days exploring them and spending time in them. It’s amazing how someone else’s excitement and happiness can lift up others. Sometimes in our own human nature we tend to focus on the negative, we get caught up and sometimes are swept away by the sadness, sorrow and troubles around us. Please don’t get me wrong, I think it’s important to be sensitive to those around us, to show compassion and kindness, but as you know I also feel it’s pertinent to our well being to find beauty, inspiration and goodness around us too, to lift one another up, rather than be pulled down. There are so many tragedies and difficulties going on around us right now, much of Oregon is on fire, the horrible air in Bend, the floods and disasters that Hurricane Harvey left behind, Hurricane Irma that is quickly approaching Florida, not to mention the ugliness we see on the news each and every day, wouldn’t it be refreshing to see some beauty, some compassion, kindness and goodness. Wouldn’t you like to be lifted up and inspired to be an encouragement to someone around you to be the source of someone’s smile?
As my surgery quickly approaches (September 11) the weight of it gets a bit heavier and my fear and sadness a bit stronger, it’s harder to push to the back of my mind. The need to find beauty also increases. To be encouraged, to smile, to laugh, to enjoy moments and to have hope is essential to my outlook, my emotional and mental health and to my physical health. So as I spend the rest of this week seeking beauty in the midst of the ups and downs, I will share that beauty with you (on Facebook & Instagram) in hopes that it will brighten your day and bring a smile to your face. I am also going to be so bold as to ask that you would spend this week seeking beauty and sharing it with me, encouraging me and brightening my day (tag me at projectfindingbeauty or use the hashtag #projectfindingbeauty). Wouldn’t it be fantastic if this week our social media was filled with hope, love, compassion, grace, goodness and kindness. If we were inspired and encouraged from our Facebook wall and Instagram feed? Could you imagine a week where your cheeks were tired from smiling so much? Join me on Facebook and Instagram, twitter, Snapchat etc. finding beauty and sharing it. It is my sincere hope that my feed will be encouraging, inspirational and full of beauty, I hope yours is too.
