Thoughts from my book

I've spent the past two weeks working on a piece for the book I'm writing. I went back to the time when we first got the news, now sixteen months ago, trying to sort out how I felt then and write it down without being maudlin or, on the other hand, too Pollyanna-ish. At that time I didn't know that I'd have the wonderful gift of these sixteen months or how well I'd feel most of the time during them.

I once read that people with permanent handicaps call the rest of us the "TABs" -- the temporarily able-bodied. Everyone is vulnerable. Accident, disease, or old age happens to each of us, usually without warning. Most of us spend our lives as though good health will last forever. Which is the way it should be.

What amazes me is the strength and resilience people show when the inevitable trauma strikes. I think of a friend who is dealing simultaneously with a hip replacement and a husband in the early stages of Alzheimers. She does it in a delightfully crisp, no-nonsense, New England style. Other friends or family members deal with MS without making a fuss about it, at least in public.

People are wonderful.