Monday, December 22, 2014

The Sun will Rise

Prologue

I know I haven't been around much. I have to be honest; these holidays are just kicking my butt. Every minute of every day is hard. We are just putting our heads down and powering through, because what else can we do?

I will be back writing and deciding what to do next. I feel I've been a bit selfish with this blog,using it for my own grief. But it has been an excellent outlet for me. I thank you all for listening.

______________

Many years ago I marveled at Tom Hanks acting in the movie Castaway. It is the story of a modern day executive who lands alone on an island after a plane crash. He lives there for years and his only friend is a volleyball named Wilson - but because it's Tom Hanks you really love Wilson.

I completely identified with that movie. I thought it was a bit of an allegory for my own life with Maggie. I was on one trajectory as a working mom/lawyer and then Maggie came into our lives and I was suddenly marooned on this desert island.  Of course I was never alone, I had my family and I always had Maggie, but it was so sudden and so completely different from anything I had known it felt very isolating. But I found a way to survive and to thrive, much like Tom Hanks character in Castaway. Like the movie, I eventually found my way back to a sense of "Normal" even though everything was different.

Still, way before I lost Maggie, it wasn't the time on the island that I related to so much in that movie as it was his speech at the end of the movie. He needs to attempt to return to a normal life, even though every thing  changed while he was on the island. Everyone thought he was dead and continued on with their lives. His fiance has moved on and married another and he has to figure out how to return to a life that simply isn't there any more.

When Maggie was here with me, that speech related to tough medical times. So many times I said to myself, "the sun will rise" which was code for tomorrow things will be better. And they always were. Until they weren't. Now I find myself relating in a different way. I have to be patient. The sun will rise. And who knows that the tide will bring in.

I hesitate to post this clip because in the first part he talks about his earlier thoughts of suicide. I never once thought about that and never felt without hope. Ever. I can't find a shorter clip so I'm posting it with the understanding that this is NOT a cry for help; it's the second half of th clip that I love.  I want to post it because I had a similar epiphany when Maggie was little. I knew somehow we had to push forward because better times lay ahead. And they did. And they do.

I'm so sad to have lost Maggie, but so glad she was on that island with me.  .

And no I know what I have to do,  I have to keep breathing. And wait to see what the tide will bring in.


.

 




6 comments:

  1. Thinking of you here in Australia, Sally. We met a time or two during my BBF days. I wonder if you are familiar with the blog "Passionate Perseverance"--seems to me that you and the author might be soon walking similar roads.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good morning. Thank you for this post, which speaks straight to my heart. That is a lovely clip from an endearing movie, which I watch and re-watch countless times, just for that lovely reminder that indeed, the sun also rises, and the tide brings everything, eventually.

    I am so sorry for your deep sorrow at having lost the amazing Maggie, and so proud of you for your deep love for your daughter, and your enduring caring about her, and sharing her beauty and her joy with the world.

    Many thanks,
    Mary

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is so beautifully written and so original -- I've never heard of our experience raising a disabled child described like that, and it's just about perfect. I imagine the tide will come in for you, again, and it will be filled with treasure.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Go to the website to see the clip.
    http://sfmaggie.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Merry Christmas Sally! Wishing you and your family a peaceful 2015!

    ReplyDelete

Hi Maggie loves your comments. It may take a while for the comment to post, but you will see it eventually.