Surround yourself with people who actually matter.
Surround yourself with people who love you and respect you.
Surround yourself with nature. It’s amazing the clarity that can be found on a running path or a mountain top.
Always choose coffee with a friend over an evening with the DVR.
Over the past few weeks I’ve dealt with tragedy, with my grandmother’s illness, with prioritizing everything – meaning the stuff that really didn’t matter made it to the bottom of the list. And it’s amazing how little matters when you are facing something big.
And it’s amazing how you learn who your true friends are during these times.
Getting back to nature made me almost forget my burdens. Almost. But then it’s back to reality and reality is that my grandmother is going to visit an oncologist this week. And she’s in for another outpatient surgery. And in my worry for her, it’s hard to think of much else.
Today I will lace up my running shoes (okay, I have Yankz, I’m not actually lacing anything), and I’ll run to Colleen’s house, 7.5 miles away. Then she and I will go for a walk on the greenway and have coffee after.
I know that’s exactly what I need to do. Today and all days, surround myself with those that are there when everything crumbles and you’re left with pieces and you don’t know how to put them back together.
And that’s what I will do.