Coulda been worse

Last Monday evening couldn’t have been sweeter! Hubby and I traveled an hour away to a small town to watch our middle daughter play her last JV softball game for the season. The ballpark was like a scene from a movie perfectly placed near the center of town, only one set of bleachers set right behind home plate, and dirt parking lot. I loved it! Nicely painted infield and a well-manicured outfield with old, rickety announcer’s box that one had to climb a ladder to get into facing the action. It was cool! The weather was chilly with a chance of light rain but luckily it stayed away till the very end. Not only was her team was victorious over their opponent but my daughter hit her first grand slam home run ever and I was there to witness it! Standing and cheering proud in the bleachers, I watched her smack it over center field sending three runners home before she, herself, jumped on home plate with a smile as big as Texas!

As we drove home afterward, I just kept thinking that life couldn’t be better! After the tragedy of the Las Vegas shooting only 24 hours earlier and all the sadness and horror of that event, I couldn’t help but think what a blessing it was to be able to live in small-town America and drive to little, hometown ballparks to cheer on our kids. As we drove down the rural, two-lane highway and watched the night sky flash from all the lightning from the oncoming storm, I was so happy that my family was healthy and safe and gets to have once-in-a-lifetime experiences, like a grand slam. I kept thinking that this was what life was all about. And what an amazing ride!

Well, two days later, I was reminded that my life is not free from its own misfortunes as Wednesday morning I was rushing my husband up to the surgeon for emergency eye surgery. We didn’t know what to expect when we received word on Tuesday after his appointment that yet another issue was going on with one of his eyes. By Wednesday mid-morning, after a quick examination by the specialist, he was staying put and getting laser surgery that day to repair a torn retina. I kept thinking Tuesday night that just the night before I was on such a high and life was so good and then by Wednesday, what a difference my emotions were while I nervously awaited my husband’s diagnosis. Thankfully, the amazing eye doctors caught the issue in time and were able to fix it easily instead of major surgery. Coulda been worse.

As we traveled back home, I was thankful for dodging a bullet and was reminded that with the good there is the bad but it coulda been worse. As we pulled into the driveway and I got Hubby inside and on the couch to recover, my phone started ringing. I answered to hear my oldest daughter had been in a car accident. Although upset, she said she was fine but once I arrived at the scene, I was kind of surprised no one was hurt due to the damage caused. Her truck was pretty torn up and she was crying but she was okay. Thank goodness!! To help her calm down, I went through all the what if’s and we talked about how she could have gotten hurt or the other driver could have been hurt. Or what if she had her sisters in the truck or her friends. Vehicles are replaceable but people are not. Coulda been worse.

Later that night, I kept joking that I didn’t want any more tragedies that day and a tragedy-free week, if God could please help me out with that, but at the end of the day, I was still thankful my family’s misfortunes that day weren’t real tragedies like Vegas. Although my week didn’t stay as great as it started and was a bit of a roller coaster as far as emotions go, we’re all still healthy and safe and things coulda been worse!