Thoughtful Thursday: Look for the signs.

I read a blog post that was shared on a friend's blog. (Thank you Stacy!) Honestly, it was one of those life-changing stories that will forever alter the way I see people. It's something that I've thought about before, but this post expressed the raw, intense honesty that we sometimes need to feel and need others to feel towards us. It took me back to an experience that I had almost 4 years ago.

Mr. Whitty was injured in an ATV accident. He suffered a compression fracture in the vertebra of his back. He was literally millimeters away from paralysis. His three days in the neurological unit at St. Joseph's Hospital were physically and emotionally overwhelming for both of us. On the day that he was to come home, we both received training from the hospital's occupational therapists. They told us how he would need to walk, sit, stand, lay, shower, go to the bathroom, and get dressed for the next several months of recovery. I knew that I would be his caregiver through much of this process. The long drive home in rush hour traffic was excruciating for him. There was no way to sit comfortably in the car and the narcotics that he was taking made him extra sensitive to light and sound. We arrived home to our four children who were excited to see their dad but could not hug him and had to try to be quiet. I got him settled in bed, fed my children something for dinner and told them that I had to go to the pharmacy to get his medications. I will never forget walking through the aisles of Walgreens, passing by other customers, and finding it odd that none of them knew that I was having the worst day of my life. It was literally my worst day and no one knew it. I think if someone would have started talking to me I would have burst into tears right there.

I think about that night in Walgreens often. I look at others and can't help but wonder if they are having their worst day. And I find that it helps me to be more understanding. More patient. More forgiving. The blog post linked below talks about signs. The signs that we wish we could wear to let people know to be patient with us. To be gentle with us. Cause we're having our worst day. I imagine myself walking through Walgreens wearing a sign that read: "My husband was seriously injured and is facing months of recovery and I'm facing caring for him and our house and our new business and our four children and I'm a little overwhelmed right now." I bet one of those customers would have smiled at me. Or held the door for me. It makes me wonder. It  makes me wonder what would happen if I smiled more. Or held the door for someone else. Because even though we can't see them, some days, we all wear a sign.

We Must See Past What it Seems...
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