Trying to make sense of it all

2011 has in all honesty been a tough year for us. Starting with Stuart's brother being hit by a car, breaking ribs, pelvis and suffering a punctured lung. Many trips taking Stuart's parents down to see him in London, and a long slow recovery for him. I then had a health scare, involving a mole, which turned out to be not so innocent. In the midst of this being resolved Stuart's Mum died.

In the scale of the year's events, today's events pale in significance, but all mounded together they can bring an air of depression and hopelessness over everything. Today, our new kitten was taken to the vets because he had been being sick for a day, keeping nothing down, and I had never seen a cat of ours behave like this. I was shocked when he was taken in for emergency surgery for a suspected intussessption of the intestine, which if left untreated would be fatal. Fortunately, through the surgery they discovered that it was not what they had suspected, and was simply an inflammation of the intestine, probably caused by an infection. Gimli now has to recover from the surgery, and I cannot wait for him to be home, although that will present a new range of issues with trying to stop Sophiw from picking him up!!

Anyway, as I was saying, how do I make sense of it all? We often say to each other how we just want 2011 to be over with, and start afresh. I face the future with a bit of trepidation, wondering what else can be thrown at us to try to grind us down. But then if I look at the blessings, I can start to make a little sense of it all. Stuart's brother has recovered remarkably well. I am blessed that the mole I discovered was in an area I could notice it, and I am now aware of my body more, and keep an eye on it. Stuart's Mum's passing was desperately sad, but has shown us the value of life, how to live each moment, and to cherish family. To try to include some of the values she had into our own lives as part of her legacy. With Gimlli, we are fortunate it was not as serious as was initially thought. We can already see how he has become such a part of our family in the few weeks he has been with us, as he has been missed sorely today by us all. I am glad I listened to my gut feeling about his illness, even if it has resulted in an operation that could possibly now be seen as unnecessary, as if it had been what the vet thought it was (symptoms all the same) by the end of the weekend it could have been a completely different story.

It is through these unpleasant events that we grow, we appreciate the good things all the more, we become more compassionate to those around us when they experience similar events. So really, we should just count our blessings.