Admittedly, my new year did not get off to the start I might have hoped for. Twin ski accidents leaving me with a fractured thumb, a torn ligament, a concussion and probably some whiplash, made for a less-than-ideal start to my semester. Add on a nasty flu, congested chest, antibiotics from hell and I can qualify these first few weeks of 2008 as “sucky.” But in truth, I thank God regularly for my problems because they are small, and I am blessed in so many countless ways.
It wasn’t always that way. In fact I was a spoiled brat when I was younger and had no idea how good I had it. But I am daily made aware of how lucky I am to be Canadian, educated, have a wonderful and supportive family, to have options.
Three recent stories of how fragile life can be have recently stood out. The first occurred in fact on New Years Eve in Halifax, as I was designated driving friends to and fro parties. En route back to the party, I passed a few people standing in the middle of the road desperately trying to flag down any moving vehicle because it was impossible to get a taxi, so I stopped to give them a ride. It was only as the girl began walking towards the car that I realized she had no arms. And one of her “friends”, who jumped into the front seat next to me, also informed that she had two prosthetic legs as well. I dropped the two boys off at a hotel, and drove her to her apartment, as she told me about how one of these guys had convinced her to stay with him, and was now abandoning her to go be with another girl. At her place, she got out of the car, braced herself against the side of my car, at which point I realized that she was standing on a patch of ice, unable to take one step. I got out of the car, and helped her up the stairs and into her place. She thanked me for the ride and wished me a happy new year. I didn’t really know what to say, but I wished her a happy new year too.
The second story occurred 3 weeks later on January 21st, to one of my dear friends who, for reasons that might become clear, has long been one of my heroines. The day I got my annoying half cast replaced with a more practical splint, I was in such good spirits that I thought nothing could upset me. When I got the email, entitled, ‘Jasmine & Ezra,’ whom I had been with on New Years Eve, I assumed that the email was announcing their engagement. Instead, I learned of black ice and a terrible car accident near Lunenburg that claimed Ezra’s life and left Jasmine unconscious with 8 broken ribs, a broken collar bone, punctured lungs and a pelvis broken in 5 places, all on top of having Chrones disease which has debilitated her much of the time I have known her. When I got to see her about 2 weeks later, she was already showing everyone how amazingly resilient she was, sitting up in bed, laughing, remembering Ezra, and talking about the positives of what had happened, including that her bowel surgery was being pushed and her luck in not having brain or spinal injuries. Luck, it seems, is relative.
The third story took place the Friday following the accident, as I was taking a cab to a Supreme Court hearing in Ottawa, where Amnesty International was taking the Crown to court to insist that the government halt the transfer of Afghan detainees to Afghan authorities because of evidence of torture. My cab driver, who it turns out had immigrated to Canada from Afghanistan 16 years earlier, recounted stories to me that were beyond imagined horror. He also told me that he had dreamed of a day when his country was safe, and where he could be free. He told me that his dream had come true, but in Canada instead of Afghanistan, and he thanked me for taking an interest in his country and he dropped me at the court.
I know I should whine a little less than I do. But I celebrate my life everyday. And pray for those who dream of better times, show us that we are really living a dream, and look up to those who are heroes to others. They show us how incredibly precious and fragile life can be, how quickly life can change and why it is important to celebrate all the things we do have every day, including in the case of most who might read this post, our problems.
This is dedicated to Jasmine & Ezra
