Walking/Running/Crawling

Saturday is a Big Day! Both DH and I are participating in a charity event for the American Heart/Stroke Association. We are so grateful to our friends and family for donating to the cause: Money for research and education to help someone else the way we were helped a year ago. 

This week I met a woman in the gym whose husband had a stroke two years ago. Her story was achingly familiar. Her husband had sudden vision loss. Went to the doctor. So far, so good...except...they were told they couldn't find anything...two weeks later, full blown stroke. He started talking gibberish. In the hospital he was asked how old was he? 27 was the answer...(not even close, since he knew his daughter was in her 40's!)  This man was a marathon racer, a fit and active man, but his stroke was caused by heart beat problems, and now he has a pacemaker. 

So once again, we feel blessed. It's a funny thing about human nature. You can always find someone that's richer than you, prettier/handsomer than you, nicer house than you, in better health than you. 

But we sometimes forget the other side of the coin...for someone, WE are the lucky ones, the richer ones, the better looking (duh! haha), having the nicer house, and yes, in better health than someone else that's looking at us thinking "why them and not me?". We really ought to look at just how blessed we are, not just us personally, but all of us. In our wonderful country, some of the poorest of the poor would be considered "well off" in a third world country. A small home would be a mansion to someone living in a dump site. 

In one estimation, America's bottom 5 % is still richer than 68% of the world's inhabitants!
I can't of course speak to the world's pulchritude chart, it is rather a subjective thing...

But back to being "lucky". I prefer to say "blessed". We are blessed that DH has recovered well from his stroke. We are blessed to have a strong support system of family and our extended family of close friends. We are blessed that we are able to walk together side by side. I think of many people who have lost a loved one to stroke, heart disease, and other illness and accidents. To say we are blessed is really an understatement. Humbled. In awe. Grateful. And I never, ever want to take one moment for granted.  

And this can't be emphasized enough! But add to this, vision changes!