VICISSITUDES
One definition of ‘vicissitudes’
is: sudden or unexpected changes or shifts often encountered in one’s life,
activities, or surroundings.
Over the last four months, since my 70th
birthday early in October, there have been a series of vicissitudes in my life,
some seemingly good, some seemingly bad. But all affording me opportunities for
growth. Let me tell you about the ‘biggies’.
Early in October my children joined my wife
and I, her children and some of our grandchildren to celebrate my birthday. We
had a happy and memorable night out together at our favourite restaurant and
both sides of our extended families, meeting for the first time, got along
really well.
Fifteen days later, my employment contract
wasn’t extended, after working for 13 years for a small firm. This came as a
shock, because I wasn’t ready to retire and, financially, we weren’t in a
position for me to retire. Also, the job market was flat and with the
Christmas/New Year holidays looming, people were just not hiring new employees.
This was very scary for my wife and me.
On 22 October my son and fiancée ‘eloped’
and were married on the beach at Byron Bay. This came as a surprise to
everyone. However, of course we were all delighted.
At the end of October, after trying to wrap
our minds around our dilemma and rapidly diminishing funds, my wife and I had
to face our fears and let our respective families know of our setback and
difficulties. Without exception, they rallied to our aid with both moral and
financial support.
Despite having to be very frugal, we still had
a lovely Christmas with my wife’s family and grandchildren.
From late October, I kept sending out job
applications and, at the time of writing this post (22 February) still haven’t
been invited for a job interview.
On the other hand, during this time I’ve
cranked out another 30,000 words and have just completed my third book in a
series for the Young Adult market. My first two books (available on Amazon)
are: THE POWER, THE MIRACLE & THE DREAM – A Beginner’s Guide to Lasting
Happiness and THE ONLY WAY OUT – Forgiveness the Path to Peace & Happiness.
A friend of mine is currently editing my latest book, KNOW WHAT YOU WANT –
Finding Direction, Purpose & Fulfilment, as he flies on business trips
between Australia, the USA and Asia. Not sure when I’ll be able to self-publish
this book – I’ll leave it up to the Universe to provide the financial means.
In my last post I described the
reconciliation between my ex-wife and me at my son’s belated wedding party two
weeks ago in Queensland. A truly cathartic experience for me where the
miraculous power of forgiveness washed away my long-standing grievances of over
20 years.
Now for the latest vicissitude. Two years ago
my wife noticed a lump on my back near my right shoulder blade. I went to the
local Doc who said it looked like a harmless Lipoma and it was not uncommon for
elderly people like me to get them. Of course I had to restrain myself from
slapping her face after such an insult. Old, elderly – how dare she!
Be that as it may, the lump seems to have
grown a lot over the last four months, so I went and saw the Doc again last
week. She agreed that it was looking unsightly and suggested I had it removed
surgically. In between time she arranged an Ultrasound to have it investigated.
That done, the radiologist said I would need to have an MRI scan to look at
things more closely to make sure it wasn’t malignant. In between time the
specialist surgeon contacted by my Doc said he requires a CT Biopsy as well.
Bloody hell! No wonder Australia’s Medicare
costs are out of control. The lump on my back is going to keep a few families
in the Health industry clothed and fed for quite a while.
It’s a good thing I truly believe that all
of our life’s experiences provide opportunities from which to grow and learn
more about ourselves; otherwise I might be tempted to get a bit pissed off anxiously
waiting for those tests to be carried out early in March.
Anyway, I’ll keep you posted.
djdelene.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment