In Your Sweet Spot

A Guest Blog from Julie!

I love to watch Steve golf.  He is a good golfer, with the potential to be a great golfer.  His swing is fluid, he can drive the ball in a beautiful and long line, and he is the consummate gentleman on the course.  When the ball hits  the "sweet spot" of his club it makes the best sound, and he is so  happy.  I watch him and beam.  He is in his sweet spot of life.  

We all have our sweet spots of life.  Things we do outside of what we have to do.  As I think of you friends reading this, I think of many things that you all do.  Biking, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, running, drawing, golfing, swimming, diving, tennis, traveling, cooking, creating....  the list is long and beautiful ( kind of like Steve's drives off the tee).  I have my own sweet spots - cooking, taking long walks, and sleeping.  ( I'm only partially kidding about the last one!)   I have not been doing much of the first two favorites, and I have been perfecting the art of sleeping and resting. I miss cooking and baking and walking forever in the woods.  I know they will come again -and missing them will make them that much "sweeter" when that time finally arrives.

I have a friend who likes to golf, but can't drive the ball very far due to a shoulder problem.  She didn't want to give up on her passion, so she found a way to make it work.  She has perfected her short game.  She has made up for the lack of distance by becoming a fabulous putter.  Way to go!  

I am looking back at the summer that really wasn't a summer for us, and looking ahead at a pretty difficult fall filled with chemo and all it's effects.  What do I do about all of the things I can't do and miss so much?  Sleep through it?  No, I don't like that idea.  (althought sometimes I don't have a choice).  Whine about it and feel sorry for myself?  No, I don't like that either.  ( and I always have a choice on that one).  How about doing what my friend did with working on her short game when her long drives became impossible?  Can I somehow make adjustments to my game and still get the ball in the cup?  Can I still find my sweet spot?

I think I can.  Long walks may out of the equation for awhile, but I can still take short walks and be outside with the wind in my hair ( or wig, as it will be).  Sometimes walking to the mailbox can be a nice break from a boring day inside.  

How about cooking and baking?  We have had so many angels bring us dinners and desserts that I honestly don't even miss making dinners for my family.  We have been so blessed, and I am pretty sure Hannah will be sad when I start making dinners again.  She has loved and declared almost every meal her favorite!  But, I can still make pancakes on a good morning, or cut up an apple with peanut butter for an after school snack.  I am learning to adjust. To not be so black and white.  To appreciate the many things I can do and celebrate them.  I don't want to miss out on my sweet spots in life.  I do need to change my thinking a bit to realize that things can look different and still be good.  Ok, so a walk down the street and back is not the same as hiking in the mountains, but I can still enjoy it.  Cutting an apple or pulling out the Biquick box is not quite the same as what I used to do, but I am still in the kitchen serving.    (sometimes I am just in the kitchen sitting while someone else cuts the apple, but I am still there!)  This a pretty big shift in my thinking, and doesn't come as easliy as I would like.  But the alternative is sitting around and feeling sad about what I am not doing.  Bad choice, that one.  

So, I am going to walk down the street and enjoy it.  I will enjoy whtatever I do in the kitchen.  And I will always love watching others in their sweet spots.  Seeing others so happy truly makes me happy.