The Good News Is…
Well, my holiday didn’t go as I expected. My daughter who lives in California contracted Covid and couldn’t come home, so most of the activities I had planned to do with her I had to cancel. Instead, we binge watched Ted Lasso at the same time on the phone together. We also had some video calls so that I could see her sweet face.
Then right before New Years, I contracted Covid as did my son, husband, and parents. So my usual planning for my upcoming year got put on hold. Now I’m feeling a bit better, helped in part by finding out that my husband unexpectedly discovered he has a health savings account he didn’t know about with $1200 in it, and by me winning a $1000 prize in a joke writing context. That helps the fact that the company I work for decided to delay bonuses and raises until after January 1st when previously we received them before Christmas. It seems no matter how things work out, they always work out the way they are supposed to.
The funny thing about getting Covid is that I had received my booster shots just 2 weeks before. I think people misunderstand what the Covid vaccine does. They think it’s like a polio or measles vaccine—if they are vaccinated, they won’t get sick, which isn’t the case. It just seems to mean that you are less likely to get extremely sick. So people really need to keep wearing their masks and social distancing and doing all the other things they need to do to be careful.
I wonder about my son going back to school and about whether my daughter, who has a lead part in a play, will get perform without the show being cancelled. If so, I wonder if the pilots will be well enough to fly so that my flight won’t be cancelled, and I will be able to see it.
Everything is up in the air—not just in my life, but in the world, it seems. Everyone is so tired of Covid, and I think people are letting down their guard. But now is the time that we don’t just think about ourselves but everyone around us. Any time I think that things aren’t going well, I think of the story of the Chinese farmer:
A farmer and his son had a beloved horse who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbors exclaimed, “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
A few days later, the horse returned home, leading a few wild horses back to the farm as well. The neighbors shouted out, “Your horse has returned and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
Later that week, the farmer’s son was trying to break one of the horses, and she threw him to the ground, breaking his leg. The neighbors cried, “Your son broke his leg, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
A few weeks later, soldiers from the national army marched through town, recruiting all boys for the army. They did not take the farmer’s son because he had a broken leg. The neighbors shouted, “Your boy is spared, what tremendous luck!” To which the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
You may not think things are working out for you, but think about similar situations in your life in the past. What you may have thought was the worst thing ever to happen to you, with life perspective, you may now see was a great blessing in disguise!
*Joke: New Years is a great time to think about all your accomplishments. It usually only takes me a couple of seconds.
Quote: Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect. – Alan Cohen
Advice: Try to remember that setbacks can turn into blessings.
*Want more New Years jokes? Check out my Winter Joke Book.