When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
May 24, 2021
We have all heard the saying...
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
This may be easier said than done, as it involves truly letting go and moving foward which may not always be that easy.
However fresh lemonade does sound refreshing, so maybe it is worth doing what it takes to make lemonade.
If you recall in previous newletters I shared how we got our precious puppy Penelope Roseritta, and a big part of her life was to be my walking partner. What a great plan for my self-care, involving our puppy, love, fresh air, sunshine and exercise.
Things were going great then on a warm melting sunny day in Calgary, everything changed.
We were out for a walk, when we approached what I thought was water on the sidewalk. As soon as my foot hit that patch, in the blink of an eye I was on the ground and my lower leg was pointing the wrong direction... oh no what have I done!!!
Long story short I had to have emergency surgery to repair the damage, I had torn the quadrecept tendon right off the knee, OUCH. No wonder my lower leg was pointing the wrong direction!
My lemons were delivered in a big overflowing bowl, I was truly grounded and immediately dependent. Whoa this was a true shock to my life and my plans!
As it was a major tendon, healing and physio was going to take time. As it is my right leg, this means no driving for 6-8 months. The first while in a brace with limited mobility.
A persons mind could easily take a downward spiral at this point, I mean here we are coming off a pandemic with self-isolation etc and now I am even further grounded as I have to depend on Darren to take me to appointments, do the grocery shopping and all the things I used to do. This is not good for either of us, as last thing he needs is more stress! Can you feel the anxiety building by thinking this way, I sure can.
While the facts remain the same, some realizations arose that helped me change my perspective. I turned to gratitude.
I was SO grateful for the ambulance ladies who rescued me and took me to the hosptial. I am grateful for every nurse, every doctor, the surgeon, every cleaning person, every drug (even though they took their toll on my body, they got me through the pain) and our healthcare system and how blessed we are to live in Canada. I was so grateful for my husband Darren, there by my side helping me every step of the way. Grateful to all the wonderful friends who reached out with offers to help.
I think I was most grateful to be out of that extreme pain, and that there was a solution, even though the healing process would take time. I believe that initial pain helped me now, accept what is.
Accept what is. I began to accept...
I was injured and needed help.
It was going to take time to heal, 6-8 months.
This meant no driving for 6-8 months, as it is my right leg.
I could not do my part in grocery shopping and all the house errands.
I could not walk with Penelope Roseritta for some time.
No doing yoga.
Cannot participate in any small markets this summer.
Doing in person sessions now, not practical for my body.
Summer is coming, it will be different.
Housework was not so easy anymore.
I cannot get in and out of our big soaker tub, so no bubble bath, my daily ritual.
And much more...
Surrender, this was huge for miss independent!
Okay so I surrenderd, but there has to be more.
Yes there is, it comes down to mindset.
Instead of focusing on what I could not do, I started thinking about what I could do. The first and most important thing was to heal my body, meaning taking the time I needed and not pressuring myself to get back to work right away.
Rest, get more rest, and rest. Let go of trying to help out, and allow Darren to take care of things, again surrender to what is.
In doing this, once I was feeling a bit better, it freed me to discover something new I wanted to learn more about, that being Aurveic Medicine. See I love learning, so why not take advantage of this down time to learn something that interested me. Besdies things I learn about self-care, get shared with you, like in my upcoming self-care membership in the making.
Speaking of which, while I could not sit at the computer, I could use the laptop. This became my new best friend. See I had the plan together for the upcoming membership, topics for each week and teaching points etc. but what was missing was the discipline to sit down and create all the print mateirals. Now I was gifted this time to create and that is exactly what I have been doing! Yummy lemonade!
Along the way I listened to my body. When I needed a nap I napped. When I needed food, I ate. I did not push myself as my first priority was healing, and still is. I have learned that you heal when you sleep, so do not cheat yourself of that gift.
My self-care has ramped up, and now includes 30 mintues of physio exercises, 3x a day. While this time used to be out walking Penelope and doing yoga, it now looks different. The good news is that I am going to have a set of tight buns by the time I am walking normal again with all these quad exercises! See, more lemonde.
My receipe for making lemonade out of lemons is pretty basic.
Give gratitude for what you are grateful for.
Accept what is, namely surrender.
Think about what you can do, not what you cannot do.
Listen to your body if healing is the issue.
Be aware of your mindset, and if you hear your negative thoughts, think about what you can do to make some lemonade out of it.
Take action.
Next time life gives you lemons, you know what to do to turn it around.
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