What Would You Do With A Second Chance?
Do you believe in second chances? It could be a game, a career opportunity, a relationship, or even life itself.
Whether you are on the giving or receiving end of them, they can certainly be exciting, but also come with consequences.
I recently had a medical scare that put me on the receiving end of a second chance at LIFE; which almost led to a second chance at a toxic relationship, but I woke up. I almost let my desperation and fear of ‘dying alone’ suck me back in, but that’s a whole other post. Ha!
Those of you who read my other blog posts, know that I lost my identity and the family I had known all my life when my parents passed almost 4 years ago.
So, my second chance on life made me analyze where I was in life, how I was honoring God in my life, and how I was living. The fact was: I wasn’t living.
I believe after my parents passed away and my divorce was final, I was ‘broken’ and moved to Florida to grieve and heal for a while; however, ‘awhile’ turned into fear and isolation for almost four years. When I thought about this after my medical scare, I realized my parents and God wouldn’t want me to live like this. They would want me to be happy, and have friends, and celebrate the blessing of life.
As I was preparing for discharge from the hospital, the medical professionals told me it could be months, even years, to get my functions back. I was struggling to find my words, often stuttering, falling over when trying to walk, I had forgotten how to type and write, and so much more. But I was on a mission, and determined to beat the odds once again.
I recall one nurse telling me that the more I do my normal routine things, the more my brain would recall, and rewire itself…returning my body to normal.
So, that’s what I did. I went about my normal routine, waking up, getting ready for the day, cooking, cleaning, playing word games on my ipad, spending an hour or two in my home office practicing the hand and writing exercises they gave me in the hospital…staying with it, no matter how frustrated I got.
After a week, I tried to get on the treadmill at 1mph holding on to the rails as tight as I could, but determined to finish 20 minutes.
Slowly, but surely, I starting improving. I was walking, talking, texting, and typing faster and faster. And, here I am today typing a blog post, able to remember words, and writing creatively again. Although, please excuse any errors you may find. J
With my second chance on life I vowed to get out and make friends. Since I work from home, this can be difficult. So I went on a meetup group site I was already a member of and actually clicked the ‘attend’ button for one of the events. For the first time in years, I enjoyed a night of bowling with a wonderful group of women!
Dating sites aren’t for me, but I will definitely be more open and present (lowering the brick wall I usually have up) when out and about, and perhaps attend some meetup Singles Events. Baby steps, right?
So, the end result is that I am thankful for every day and try to get outside every day and ‘smell the roses’! And, although I go to church weekly, I also signed up to volunteer with the elderly, sick and shut-in.
In contemplating your own life, what would you do with a second chance? What would you do more or less of? What would you change?
I’d love to hear your comments.
Until next time…