Grief

Today one of my class discussions was on grief and the grieving process. Sometimes I feel like I have been through that a little too much. Most people think of grief having to do with death, but we all grieve when something that is really important to us doesn't happen. I remember years ago a lady in a quilting group I attended brought a poem to read. She had a daughter that was developmentally challenged. The poem talked about planning this trip to France your whole life and now you get to go but when you get off the plane, you are not in France but in the Netherlands, and you are not going to get to go to France. The poem goes on to talk about the choice you have to enjoy the beauties of the Netherlands or morn and be bitter over the loss of not seeing France. I have thought of that poem often and find myself saying " enjoy the Netherlands". One of my other class discussions was on disabilities and we watched a film with many people that have a variety of challenges talking about their daily life. One of them said when he was injured one of the only things he could choose was how he was going to live with what he had left. I think that is what agency is all about "Choosing how we are going to live and if we are going to enjoy the Netherlands."