The weekend didn't exactly start out my way.
It began on Friday night. While still at the office, I get a text about a crisis at home.
Turns out my wife had just gotten off the phone with the vet, who told her to take one of our chihuahuas, Jose, to the emergency room. And she wanted me to meet her there.
Anyway, they needed to keep Jose overnight. I left an open credit card and signed some papers.
But as I leave the hospital my head is chattering. How can they charge so much to treat a 12 pound dog? We could have gone to Mexico for a week for that kind of money. I mean it was as much as for treating a human. And the dog doesn't have insurance. And maybe he should get a job. Or go on welfare. Not serious thinking, just my monkey mind going here and there.
Then, saturday morning my wife is having serious pain. She'd tripped over a box in a dark room a few days earlier, causing extensive bruising, and neck pain when she fell. She wasn't improving, so off to the emergency to have her checked over.
And I had the great idea to go to a hospital that's never been real busy at previous visits. But this wasn't one of those times. The waiting room was full.
There were some there in crisis. One was moaning. An elderly man was going in and out of consciousness as his family comforted him. Mothers were holding sick babies. A lot of suffering in a small area. Stress was in the air as the staff struggled to decide who was in the worst shape, who to treat first.
In a short while I moved to acceptance and gratitude. I was grateful my wife was able to walk into the hospital. That her situation didn't seem as serious as some in the waiting area. That we have the resources to care for ourselves. That we live in a system where health care is available.
Instead of grumbling, I spent the wait time studying for a course I'm taking, writing a blog, and reflecting.
By late afternoon I was able to leave for an hour to retrieve Jose from the animal hospital. He was jumping with joy to be going home. And after that I went back to the hospital for my wife who was told to rest and put ice on her injuries.
Even though the weekend wasn’t what I’d planned, I was able to find acceptance and gratitude for the blessings we have in our lives.
Click here to email John
