appreciating simplicity

i woke up thinking about my great aunt C, (or great aunt, once removed, to be exact).  i don't know why i was thinking about her, maybe because of a dream i had or something.  but regardless, she, whom i do not even have a relationship with, was on my thoughts.

last spring she was one of the people in Creston, IA to lose her home to the great tornado.  in fact, she didn't even have a basement to hide in, so not only was her home completely destroyed, but her body was violently thrown into the nearest ditch.  luckily, she was rescued and taken to the nearest hospital at the time.  she is lucky to be alive, but she will most likely never walk again. and she doesn't have a husband or family in town to care for her.

i never really talked about this with anybody outside of work.  one co-worker at the time shared stories about her son who was a freshman at SWCC and showed us pictures of all the destroyed dorms.

and maybe i'm thinking about all this because this weekend there were tornado warnings, or "watches" at the very least for southwest iowa.  and i prayed it would not hit the towns of the people i love.  i suppose that's the risk you take when you live in the midwest.  but the thought still pokes at me; while my great aunt was getting tortured, i was in the basement of a church in central iowa, celebrating the nuptials of a good friend.

perhaps i'm feeling guilty.  i've had lots of selfish thoughts & desires of late, some completely validated, some...not so much.  and while that's "human", i feel it can't go without saying that i am truly grateful for the life that i have.  i haven't had my home destroyed by tornadoes or fire; i haven't lost anyone i've truly loved, with the exception of a great grandmother & another great aunt over 10 years ago.

and now, i suppose i'm getting to that age where one starts to consider the fact that not only are their parents getting older, but so are their grandparent's, if they still have them around.  my pap pap's life is a guessing game every day.  in a few weeks he will undergo bone marrow transplant surgery- a very risky procedure involving stem cell rejuvination, because, well, it's necessary and the last resort at this point.  he's had a very rare blood disease (aplastic anemia) as well as two bouts of lyme disease, because an outdoorsman he will always be.  and this surgery he's having is all after chemo and radiation to kill his own existing stem cells.

i don't know all the medical jargon or all the details, but the truth is i'm scared.  jesse & i were planning a vacation out in pennsylvania to see him & my grammy this fall, but with all that's going on he has to be in isolation and needless to say, the time when i feel most necessary to see him (just in case he passes), is the time when i can't.

it sucks. it totally does. but alas, this is life right?

and the past week i've tried to find joy in the little things, and not get so caught up with all the ickiness.  just yesterday, we were enjoying brunch at I-Hop, (a monthly tradition, at least) and these 5 things caught my attention:

*a blind man and woman, with their helpers
*a little boy in a batman costume
*a man from the apartments across the street was smoking, meanwhile chasing & playing with dog
*a couple kissing in their car
*a little boy missing his two front teeth, wheezing and laughing with his sister

and for some odd reason, i felt connected with these people.  at the very least, they caught my attention and made me smile & find joy in life's everyday moments. because everyone has a story, everyone has pain. but within those shared moments and experiences, lies joy. it's finding beauty in simplicity, i believe. and there's beauty all around us, and reasons to be grateful, if we just open our eyes.