About ten days ago my daughter fell on her face and smashed her front teeth in.
Shortly after we carried our pained four year old into the emergency room and got whisked into a private room right away, instead of spending hours in the E.R. waiting for our turn.
Over the last 10 days I’ve learned more than I’ve wanted to have to know about the face. I learned that a fall and injury like this is very common, especially with kids. I learned that there is potential to break various parts of the face (lower jaw, upper jaw, nose, etc.), and if that happens you might need surgery. I learned that it is possible for the teeth to get back into place, and be strong. I learned the teeth might discolor to dark or black, and that might be okay.
More important, I was reminded that as bad as something might seem, we can choose to find blessings (or, for the non-religious, some kind of pleasant coincidence, if you will).
I feel blessed that my daughter’s face was not broken.
I feel blessed that we have access to the medical technology to know that, and to treat every step of the way to a full recovery.
I feel blessed that my four year old has had a champion’s attitude helping her through the pain and discomfort – not once have I heard her complain about it.
I feel blessed that we have the right insurance in place to take care of the bills this is creating.
I feel blessed that our experiences with the doctors, from the hospital to the dentist, have been nothing but positive.
I feel blessed that I have been able to recognize and appreciate these blessings in a time that I could be mad and bitter and depressed.
I don’t want to sound polyannaish, but I know there are also blessings in losing a job and being in a job search. In my own job search….
I was blessed to get out of a toxic professional relationship, and be able to start over.
I was blessed to have the opportunity to have a complete change in my career field.
I was blessed to be given the opportunity to grow and accomplish more than what I had on the path I was on.
I was blessed to get and take opportunities to do things right away, which helped propel my new direction quite nicely.
I was blessed to have access to family investments… not all entrepreneurs can tap into family, and we were able to.
I was blessed to be on a path where I felt I can make a difference in this world, for humanity.
I was blessed to be able to renew my relationship with my family, who I was losing touch with because of my hectic work/travel schedule.
I know it’s a hard time to look at or for blessings, but I invite you to quietly think about what blessings your transition has brought to you… maybe even write them down! Many job seekers do stuff in transition that they have to stop when they get a job… what blessings do you enjoy right now?
