Stop and Smell the Roses

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In my hospital bed the view out the window was fantastic. It was February and the hospital is on the shore of Lake Ontario. Waves crash onto the beach making mountains of ice which continue to grow until the sun sets and the show I can see is over till tomorrow.

There's lots of people who don't like hospitals. I neither like or hate hospitals but I'd rather be visiting one than be a patient. This time I'm a patient so I'll just have to go with that. I could complain about the food or the paint on the walls or just complain about my situation but I don't. The one thing I noticed that makes the biggest difference to me is something that's invisible.

Which side of the glass do I want to be on?

The glass is the window I looking out of and looking out on the world. That world continues weather I'm a stroke survivor in a hospital or someone who had a stroke but didn't make it. It doesn't pass judgment. This invisible piece of glass gives no thought to which side I 'm on. It's just a portal, a viewing screen to the other side. I know which side I want to be on.

There's no doubt I need a plan, a goal, a way to judge my recovery but all I can think of is spring. The world renews itself. The air smells fresher. The soul feels the new possibilities. It's all very poetic but what it comes down to this, I want to be on the other side of that glass. I know it's there or I'd be very cold up here on the 6 floor of the hospital. It seems to be the only barrier between being a patient or a visitor.

On the other side of that glass is my life. Freedom to do what I want. So what did I want to do? Everything had changed in a split second and so did I. Looking out that window was different. Now I not only saw the waves I felt them crash onto the icy shore. This realization had me thinking. What else changed?

Getting better was a must. I want to feel the warm spring breeze on my skin and the warmth of the sun on my face. Hear the birds chirping in the trees and smell the grass as it grows again. Spring is just a few month away. There's something more to all of this that I must have and won't give up.

What I won't give up is that “New” must have. Time. Time to realize that I'm still here. Appreciate that I still have a life to live. Feeling that I'm apart of all this and that it's time to stop and smell the roses.

The only way to do this is to get better and be on the other side of the glass. We all have to choose which side of the glass we want to be on.