Example Par Excellance: Nigel's ear surgery "scheduled" for today at 2:00 pm. By 3:30, they still hadn't called us back, so we were beginning to worry they might have forgotten about us! The last thing we wanted was to reschedule so I finally went looking for someone. I found the RN on duty for our area and when I told him about our "scheduled 2:00 surgery", he got the strangest look on his face! He was very polite and told me he'd double check his schedule. Most importantly though, they had not forgotten us! Whew! We were on the list! Unfortunately, his schedule showed we were scheduled at 3:30! On top of that, he said the doctor was running behind because of three very difficult cases. "But at least we're still on the list!" I kept telling myself.
The RN offered to ask the doctor to speak with us. "No thank you!!" we both hastily replied! "That would just put him further behind! Besides, mistakes happen. We're just glad we're still on the list!"
So we made adjustments according to our new found knowledge. This consisted of turning the lights off in the room so Nigel could try to take a nap (and forget the tempting smell of food wafting down the hallways from the cafeteria! He hadn't eaten since 10:00 pm the night before!). I then left to get something to eat (Sorry Nigel!) I'd been so busy at work that I'd skipped lunch and had only eaten a light breakfast. If I was to care for my sweetheart, I needed sustenance!!
Yes, I suppose we could have gotten angry. . . . at the situation, at the RN, at the doctor, at the doctor's office staff, whoever! But what good would that have done? Doesn't speed things up any and might even do the opposite and slow things down! Besides, it gave me the chance to buy some lovely and - more importantly - very inexpensive jewelry in the gift shop ($5.00 per beautiful necklace is NOT to be ignored!) Also, it gave me a great excuse, not to mention ample time, to read two of my favorite magazines front to back without interruption! And if that weren't enough, I'll go ahead and admit that it gave me a great opportunity to drink a Coke and eat two (Yes, I said two!) candy bars!! A Payday (full of protein with all those nuts) and a Baby Ruth (the package blatantly touting it contained a whopping four grams of protein!) Hey, this was my dinner! I needed more than just one!
So you see? Things can always be brighter depending on your outlook. Forget schedules and plans, or at least try not to be so bound by them! If they rule your life so tightly that any variance causes great anxiety, then maybe you have the wrong schedule!
Instead, relax! If it's going to happen, it will. And if it isn't going to happen, it won't! (Profound, don't you think?) There's simply no reason to fight it. You'll lose every single time, absolutely guaranteed! Besides, just think of all the cool things you can do instead!
May God Bless, Jan
P.S. I didn't include photos because for some odd reason, I didn't think to take my camera to the hospital! Go figure! By the way, Nigel is doing GREAT! His tummy is full and he's sleeping away!!
P.S. P.S. It occurred to me that I could take photos of my jewelry now that I'm home! Duh! Yes, I know. As Nigel would no doubt say - only I could find jewelry in a hospital! And we don't want to hear what Nigel will think about "said jewelry" because it probably isn't printable! Suffice it to say that I like them, and that's all that matters!!! So here they are, in Sea Foam Green, Pretty in Pink, and Red-Orange:
