Learning to Dance in the Rain

Today a longtime friend, who actually lives far away in Hawaii, sent me this nice story.  Of course, we intellectually know that attitude is everything, but being able to carry it out is a whole different ball game.  I like this story, and I'll carry it with me always.  So, I'm sharing with you today.  

Attitude is Everything

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.  "Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today?"  So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.  "H-M-M," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today?"  So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.  "Well," she said, "today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail."  So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.  "YEA!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"

Attitude is everything.
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.
It's about learning to dance in the rain.
                                    - Anonymous



This story reminds me of a sign that caught my eye Saturday - "Learning to Live with Plan B."  What do you do when life doesn't present itself the way you thought it should, or had hoped it might?  I guess we move on to Plan B.  

Plan B in business and life can be two completely different worlds in terms of the emotional stake and the timeline involved.  It took me over two years to be able to embrace a normal life following the death of my husband so many years ago.  In that case, Plan B was learning how to live without him, finding peace with being a single parent, learning to forgive, and much more.


Over the weekend a dear friend asked me to be honest with her:  "How is life different than it used to be?"  I'm sure some of my answers were anticipated, others were quite strange.  

• I very much appreciate each day like never ever before.  That may sound cheesy, but it's so true.  
• No doubt, today I would take a bullet for my family and friends and special relationships.  These special people have helped me to see sunshine in the rain.    
• I live in fear that when I leave this grand world, my family will cuss my name as they pour through decades of keepsakes and miscellaneous junk.  My new passion - to clean out this place.  Even though it's slow, I'm making progress.  
• My energy level is much lower than it was, making me prioritize the day's options, learning to say "no" more frequently than before cancer.  
• I sleep more than ever before, even though this might be a good thing for someone who had long grown accustomed to sleeping only five hours each night.  
• My upper body is either sore, in pain or completely numb - very little in between.  But the sore and pain will go away sometime soon.  The sisterhood tells me I'm  probably stuck with the numbness, especially in and under my right arm.  
• Will the muscles in my legs ever be strong again?  Chemo sure took its toll on the legs.  
• Overall health is much more on my mind.  Next Monday I'll begin a new path of physical fitness to get my body more in shape, hopefully regain some strength in my legs, arms and upper body.  
• I want to join "the sisterhood" and hopefully provide strength and courage and honesty to other women facing this unfortunate journey.  And I want more women to know about Inflammatory Breast Cancer - that not all breast cancers present themselves as a lump or can be detected with a mammogram.  

Yes, my life is somewhat different.  But I'm learning to live with Plan B, I'm learning to dance in the rain.  It will all be okay, because I have life, even if it's not exactly the life I had planned for.  It's still very good and I very much love it.