poetry

Nacho at the Vet

Tired! Well, what of that?
Didst fancy life was spent on beds of ease,
Fluttering the rose-leaves scattered by the breeze?
Come! rouse thee, work while it is called to-day!
Coward, arise–go forth upon the way!
Lonely! And what of that?
Some one must be lonely; ’tis not given to all
To feel a heart responsive rise and fall,
To blend another life into its own;
Work may be done in loneliness; work on.
Dark! Well, what of that?
Didst fondly dream the sun would never set?
Dost fear to lose thy way? Take courage yet,
Learn thou to walk by faith and not by sight,
Thy steps will be guided, and guided right.
– Unknown.

You gotta love it when your morning e-mail puts you in your place. At the very least, you have to appreciate the irony in spite of yourself.

This past month has been kind of nuts. N-U-T-S.  We had work done in our kitchen that involved a week of emptied cabinets and drawers – with contents spread here, there, and everywhere. When you could short out a pedometer simply by rounding up things to make supper, it grates on your nerves.

I was accidentally “glutened” (long story short: for health reasons I can’t have wheat or gluten because they make my body think it has been poisoned – ugly stomach pains, fatigue, bloating, weight gain, headaches, etc.. when gluten/wheat accidentally make their way into my diet, I refer to it as being “glutened”). Most of the time when this happens (which is rare, thank God), it makes me feel like I have the flu for anywhere between 3-7 days. This particular time, it has caused a lot of respiratory distress – which my asthma is kind of panicking over.

Worst of all, we had a very sick cat on our hands for about a week. We spent the better part of the day with one of our outside cats, Nacho, at the vet yesterday and when you love your pets like family, the whole experience takes its toll. Thankfully, he has his prescription and is expected to make a full recovery within a week.

If only our nerves recover in that time. He gave us a real scare.

There were a few other minor annoyances thrown in here and there, as well. Just suffice to say it has seemed like May was trying to pick a fight with me since day 1!

This morning, I found myself sitting and thinking about yesterday. When you love someone so much (yes, even when that someone is a cat), you risk great pain. Comes with the territory, of course, but it’s a risk nonetheless.  I kept telling my coffee, “I am so tired…” Seriously, I must have thought those words at least 6 times over the course of 3 hours.

Thankfully coffee is an excellent listener.

After I finished the morning chores and sat down at the computer in my home office, I opened my e-mail. I subscribe to several daily inspirational newsletters and I always go for them first. The poem at the top of the post (from the Leaves of Life Daily Devotional) is the first one I saw.

Well played, God. Very well played.

After re-reading the poem a few times (to let it really sink in), I started thinking about the lyrics to one of the catchiest songs in the world:

I beg your pardon I never promised you a rose garden
Along with the sunshine there’s gotta be a little rain sometime
When you take you gotta give so live and let live and let go oh oh oh oh
I beg your pardon I never promised you a rose garden

Like the poem, these lyrics are worth reading a few times through, too!

Roses don’t grow on stalks of clover. Cats aren’t healthy every single day of their lives and we won’t feel great every single day of our life.  Along with the sunshine there’s gotta be a little rain sometime.  Every day of the year isn’t going to fall under the heading of “normal.”

I guess sometimes we just have to stop and think it over. We shouldn’t make life so melancholy… it was never meant to be a 24/7 walk in a rose garden, after all. The good times far outnumber the bad and the more energy we spend thinking about the bad times, the less time we’re spending thinking about the good.

Very often the bad is just a fleeting moment, when all things are considered. Take Nacho for example. The picture at the top was taken yesterday at the vet. That was one miserable little boy. But, in no time at all, he’ll be back to his old self, like the picture below. Healthy, happy, and actively looking for something to get into!

I beg your pardon, but think the song nailed it – let’s smile more and enjoy the good times while we can! Even in the rain, a rose garden is still a rose garden.

~  Joi and Nacho