BALANCE

It’s getting more and more difficult to write an uplifting article on a daily basis. Yesterday I reflected on balance, specifically, the balance between being an adult and keeping some part of your inner child alive.

After another night of riots and protest I’m particularly concerned about our future and waiting for the third plaque to hit.  Yes, I said plaque.  As if it was enough that we are suffering through a viral pandemic, now we have a violence pandemic sweeting through our country, tearing us apart.  Unfortunately, both of our modern-day plaques will be long lasting and leave deep scars.

So, how do we restore balance to our lives?  As a family physician, the newborn and pediatric side of the practice balanced out the losses seen while taking care of our elders.  Celebrate birth and mourn loss was a common factor in my life.

Yesterday was one of those days.  My granddaughter came over to play and play we did. Looking at the world through her eyes lifts my spirit.  She proudly proclaimed, “Zadie, I’m a sister!”  What an accomplishment!  What a joy!  Meanwhile, between cries, my grandson shot me a few smiles and some comic relief as he kept puking on my daughter.  I was transported back in time seeing my young wife in my daughter’s face and recalling being puked and pooped on as the kids’ grew into the adults they are today.

Then, the phone rang.  I recognized the voice immediately.  While I hadn’t seen him in over a year, he and his wife were core patients having placed their health in my hands close to 30 years ago.  He wanted me to know that his kind and gentle wife had died from Alzheimer’s.  I’m still crying.  She was a blessing to every soul she met, always smiling, always uplifting.  If you’ve seen me using walking sticks (ski poles) it was her that taught me about them.  

Once again, I was reminded of the need for balance and I cursed out loud.  Why does joy and happiness have to be balanced by overwhelming losses from viruses, protest and aging?  I’m not smart enough to answer that question.

Today, the movers come delivering my furniture and, more importantly, my underwear.  Packing and preparing for this move left me in a fog.  I packed the car with what I would immediately need.  Shirts and shorts but no underwear or socks.  Coffee maker, coffee pods, sweet-n-low and Cremora but no coffee mug, oatmeal but no bowl, shaving cream but no razor, etc.  The joy of moving into new digs naturally was balanced by the frustration of new devices that don’t work; the washing machine being one of those devices (the installer screwed up).  

Balance!  Know that with the good comes bad.  Celebrate the good and try not to dwell on the bad!

Here’s your music and a joke.

Morris, an 82 year-old man, went to the doctor to get a physical.

A few days later, the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young woman on his arm.

A couple of days later, the doctor spoke to Morris and said: “You’re really doing great, aren’t you?”

Morris replied: “Just doing what you said, Doc. Get a hot mamma and be cheerful.”

The doctor said: “I didn’t say that. I said, You’ve got a heart murmur – be careful.”