The Can And Can't Do Things In My Life

-When I get frustrated, which happens
quite often, I often tell God that I can't do anything. Or so it seems at
the moment. When I am calmer, I realize that there are things that I can do
and I need to be grateful for them. I will mention some of them later in
this blog but, first, I want to briefly mention some things that I,
obviously, can't do.

I can't move, except for my head. Even that is not freely because my neck is
so stiff and sore. And, because I can't move, somebody else has to do
everything for me. Wash me, dress me, feed me, etc. And I can't work and
earn my own money (though I would be retired by now) I can't even use my
computer like other people use a computer. I have to operate it with my
head. If I want to write something, I have to bop out each letter with my
head which is extremely time-consuming.

However, the very most frustrating thing for me has to be my inability to
speak. Yes, I have the speech board but it is too slow and tedious to have
much of a conversation with most people. Most times, even though I would
like take part in conversations, it is less frustrating for me to,just sit
and listen.

But one thing I have learned throughout this ordeal is to put my focus on
the positive or I will end up depressed. With this in mind, I have chosen to
list some things that I can do. I can see. For me, that is a big deal as I use my eyes a lot. I communicate with my eyes. Using my speech board is all with my eyes. With the nurses, though, I often just look at something and they know what I want Of course, I need eyes to operate my computer so I can read the Bible and other things, write they like these blogs and e-mails and even to watch tv. Every so often, I wonder what my life would be like is I couldn't see but I reading don't want to think about it.

I can hear. I can hear sermons and music at church. That is important to me. But it is not just at church that I value my hearing. I listen to a lot of music which helps to keep me encouraged. I can hear when people speak to me, whether at church, in Long-term Care and when I get visitors. And, one of my favorites, I can listen to small children, especially my grandchildren.

I have a sound mind. I think a sound mind is more important than a sound body. At least to me it is. Of course, I would like both but just having a sound mind has opened up some things for me. For example, that sound mind enabled me to learn how to use my computer with relative ease. Which in turn has enabled me to read and understand the Bible, correspond with people and write these blogs. That sound mind also has allowed me to do a lot of thinking and meditating. I just have to make sure that I think and meditate on the right things.

The things that I can do, seeing, hearing and using my sound mind, are all simple things that we, myself included, too often take for granted. But we all would find life much more of a challenge without them.

There is one more thing I can do that I didn't mention. I can eat! Eating is one of the few pleasures I have and I thoroughly enjoy it. Especially when I get nonhospital food. I do have to be a little careful or I would be 600 pounds!