March 26, 2012
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perspective
Yesterday my bad attitude and I were helping to clean up the art studio where I teach some summer camps. My bad attitude was more involved than I was. It’s not necessarily that I wasn’t getting paid to reorganize a place when the place I live is a disaster. It’s not necessarily that I’m only teaching 3 camps this year (my choice, well, my schedule) and I’ve spent most of the past two summers working in the disorganized mess that it was. It’s not necessarily even that I have gobs of things to do and if I’m not getting paid to do something, it should be something fun. It’s all of these things and maybe one or two other things that I haven’t even thought of. Anyhow. There was my bad attitude.
Imagine how annoying it was to hear a convoy of sirens as ambulances and possibly all the police cars in the area sped through the main street of that quiet little town. This morning I found out what the sirens were all about. A 50 year old man, apparently newly married, pillar of the community (I didn’t know him) was on his roof taking down the freaking Christmas lights and fell off. He died.
This morning I was also thinking about somebody else who died way before her time. Turns out I wasn’t just connecting her to that man, today is the first anniversary of either her death or her funeral. She wasn’t even 40 years old and left behind two young sons. She was the gym teacher at spawn’s middle school. My daughter adored her. Everyone adored her. She was that kind of person. She died of a heart attack exercising on the tread mill.
I also got an email announcement from an older woman I like very much. Her husband, a very sweet man, recently died of complications from open heart surgery. Her email was heart-breaking. She obviously hadn’t expected to say goodbye to him. So now I have a visitation to attend this weekend.
Life is fleeting. Makes me feel pretty ridiculous that I’m cranky because I have too much to do.
Comments (21)
Perspective is important. I’m sorry you had to remember that the hard way.
@lanney - there are harder ways to remember.
Oh my, there’s just death all over the place, isn’t there? It kind of does put things in perspective. Sorry about all that gloominess.
that’s horrible he died like that but I suppose we all have to come to an end. The death rate is holding fast at 100%.
@godfatherofgreenbay - 100 %, that’s a lovely perspective, you are voice of gloom (fyi:that’s a haiku)
@leaflesstree - this is why i avoid reality.
Funny how life gives us those lessons. ((((hugs))))
@songoftheheart - also ridiculous that i keep needing to be reminded. i’m like a 6 year old. awful hard to get my attention. will i ever be more wise?
My sincere condolences.
Sorry. I was about to fade into bed. Didn’t know brain cells would be required. True. Life is fleeting. Maximize the happy. Best I got.
@distractedbyzombies - it’s all kinds of good.
@Bricker59 - thanks
Sorry to hear of those deaths. My mom died young. Thanks for the song, gives a good perspective. Hope you feel happier soon.
@Ikwa - i’m sorry for your loss. i’ve been awfully lucky that my “losses” are only by association. i’m just fine now. thanks. (tired, but with better attitude)
i’m sorry you hurt over their passing. it’s always hardest on us left behind i suppose. perspective. a word that has been coming up a very lot lately.
@be_the_rain - always more than one way to look at something.
Bad attitudes hate rational thinking. We had a fellow hold up traffic for nearly 2 hours on busy interstate I-40 because he robbed a local Bank of America. The police had a description of the car so they knew he had to be somewhere near-by. They found him and took him into custody. You know what else I found interesting…..his get-away car was a Mercedes!
@vexations - it takes a lot of cash to keep up that kind of lifestyle.
yep. i can either have a bad attitude or i can be rational (or something like it).
A poignant post and it certainly did put things into perspective. ((((HUGS))))
Nice to know the death rate is still at 100% @godfatherofgreenbay.
I liked the song. Very true…
@MzSilver - isn’t he just a ray of sunshine? thanks for you kind words. as always.
So sad and so many others are dealing with so many worse things than I am, but I also get into that emotion grouchy pants mode too.
Loss is hard and wow loosing one so young to a heart attack wow…. Jeff is going through the death of a friend that was murdered life can be so sad
@Grannys_Place - there’s always somebody worse off. without a doubt. but i’m awful self-absorbed.
@SisterMae - sometimes life is incomprehensible. murder. don’t even want to think about how hard that is to get over.