GRATITUDE FRIDAY

Showing up in the Storm Requires Inner Peace

Turbulent relationships require a bit more work on our part

Created in Canva by Nancy Blackman

My brother had to rush to work on Saturday, so he called me, “Something is off with mom. Can you check on her?”

He came across a bit nonchalant, so I didn’t think it was urgent. And, yes, there is a backstory that includes trauma (that’s for another story on another day). My mother is 92 years old and though her age has started to slow her down, there are times when you wonder if she would ever slow down. And, yes, she still lives alone.

Until Saturday…

I did call her, and she couldn’t speak, so my husband and I rushed to her place. When I entered her home, I could tell that she knew who I was, but she couldn’t form a sentence. Having trained as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) many years ago, I knew some of the things to look out for and did a simple stroke test.

I knew, at that moment, that I had shown up to a storm and relied upon my own inner peace to carry me through. I can be pragmatic and logical in times of stress and with a challenging relationship, all I could do was put one foot in front of the other and do the best I could at the moment.