I tell you something for nothing, the smallest knock in your cosmic direction can push you to thinking about so many different life scenario’s that you end up over cooking the whole thing and come back to basics.
This time last week we were recovering from a suitable festive evening after having had Justin visit for the weekend from Cape Town, a long way to come for a majito but then again, if it’s a paid for trip then why the hell not. Monday was a UK bank holiday and became the day that delivered that changing moment.
Mom had a mild heart attack on Monday morning at their home in South Africa. Interesting that you can grade a heart attack – you’re not ordering a steak here people! Anyway, by that evening she had been in and out of surgery and was back in ICU, luckily no bypass required. Sort of like when a town needs to plan a new highway and manages to avoid the bypass option that will drain it of revenue.
What was to be a long week with many conversaitons and Skype calls to Dad, Mom rang on Saturday morning (yesterday) to say she was lying on the couch at home (not watching the Blue Bulls trample the Chielfs I hasten to add) – they had let her out of ICU to go straight home. This is indeed great news.
I’ve never spoken to someone about the experience of a heart attack before so it was interesting in itself. Mom was never scared and at some point wanted the whole thing to just sort itself out or take her away, I’m more than chuffed that it decided to sort itself out really. I like having her on the planet, she’s my mother after all and I do love her. She does say she’s ver tired still and walking 10m tires her still but that will change. The one gain she has now is that she has warm feet….ip, after always having cold feet (not at the alter kind of cold feet) she now has warm feet, go figure.
I sit now in my garden, under the shade of my parasol with Jen lounging in the lazy afternoon heat the UK summer is so kindly providing (tomorrow they’ll tell us it was hotter than Madrid or something) and thank every power that exists for the way the events unfolded themselves. It also showed how we deal with aversity and how we’ve grown and how brilliant modern science and medicine is.
This week also reminded me to control the things I can control and to smile at the things I can’t, maybe that way I can at least influence them….
