Show #270

Hello Friends of the Garden!

I really haven’t written much lately, at least not much of substance. It seems a lot like that Bart Crow song, “Life Comes at You Fast”. The last few weeks have had a mixture of excitement, quiet reflective moments, responsibilities, driving, car problems, family issues, worry, hope and sadness, pretty much like regular life! Regular life can be a tall order sometimes, especially when a perfect storm of things come together to present their challenges.

A few weeks back I wrote about how my Mom wasn’t satisfied with making me like vegetables alone. She had to take it a step further by combining two or more of them in to a horrible concoction! Sometimes life is that way. I’m not sure if it’s a Karmic (replace with your own acceptable reasoning) thing or what. Do we always “reap what we sow” or are something’s just random acts of the human condition? Why is it that problems compound for some people while others appear virtually unaffected?

I recall years ago when we had trouble with our son (a long painful story no one wants to hear). I got a lot of well-intentioned advice at that time from plenty of people who had not and were not facing that same adversity. When I think about it I laugh to myself! Why would you want advice from someone that has little to no experience with what you are facing? Wouldn’t having someone that has had the experience to survive similar circumstances be more relevant? Success seems to have many different definitions that are so very conditional in their nature.

Of course, like the line from The Doors song, “Nobody gets out alive”, we all face difficult times in our lives. Shows like “The Kardashian’s” or “The Osborne’s” or whatever reality show, exist because of the drama in their lives, not the perfection! All the Pasteurized problems of the celebrities make us common folk yearn for their petty predicaments! Ha, I’d like to see how they’d handle my problems!

Truth be told, the same is true of me! I’ve seen my own family and friends struggle with issues I’d be reluctant to deal with myself! I know plenty of instances where I wouldn’t want to trade places with people and their circumstances! Still, your problems are your problems! I know many times I’ve felt completely crippled by the situations I’ve found myself in. I’ve been my own worst enemy more than any perceived enemy could do to me!

My wife and few of my friends have recognized my propensity to use self-deprecation as shield for acknowledging having done something well. I don’t really understand it myself. I think I want to be average so I can average problems. I want to believe that I’m not facing unusually adverse conditions just the average ones! I can deal with the limited success, just please don’t overload me with “character building” challenges!

Turning this whole thing on its head or for the “glass is half full” people is focusing on the positive! Finally, years in waiting, my son has had the first of many surgeries to address his Spina-Bifida. It has taken so long for this to begin (part of that story no one wants to hear)! He has had a cyst removed and has an open wound that is sizable and needs redressing twice a day. It is a difficult task for the squeamish and between my wife and myself I am less squeamish than her. The wound is of the sort that I needed to be trained redress. As loathsome as this task seems, I’ve learned that I’d rather face this than life without my son in it! Give me this job any day instead of the alternative! Yeah, half full is far preferable than half empty!

Meanwhile, all around me, people are dealing with their own demons. As my good friend Glen likes to say, “life’s rich pageant”! I’ve been fortunate to witness the kind hearts of good friends lately. I’ve seen real strength, enviable strength, in many of the people I know as they pull together to help each other. Being the “Spreadhead” that I am, I can’t help but think of a line from “This Part of Town”, ‘Where there is hope, there is love!’.

I’ll get myself up to speed here soon! Hang in there with me and I’ll try to do the same for you!

Thanks to everyone!

Peace and love!

Mike