The Little Things

It's the little things in life that make it all worthwhile.

Like watching your kids open Christmas presents. The anticipation of Opening Day. A surprise kiss.

Oh, sure there are others. And a lot of them happened this past year. Some were bigger than others. Some really don't mean anything to anyone else but me. I suppose, by definition, that is why they are "little things."

Over the holidays, I asked Eric how he was doing. Last time I included an update on Eric was over a year ago. His goal then was to do "the little things."

Like make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for his daughter. Or...try this...walk.

Wow.

So how is Eric doing? Well, he writes, "suffice it to say that since then (my last post on Eric), recuperating and rehabilitating has been my full-time job. I've had three surgeries to repair damage to my feet; surgery to regain partial use of my left hand; a month-long stay at a rehabilitation hospital to learn to walk again after being bedridden for seven months; five months of IV antibiotics at home to clear up a serious bone infection; several appointments with prosthetics and orthotics firms, one that is completing a state-of-the-art 'bionic' right hand with fingers that open and close; and seven weeks of daily hyperbaric oxygen treatments at a nearby hospital to help close wounds on my feet."

Wow.

"I scoot around the house in my wheelchair packing lunches, making dinner and doing laundry."

Wow.

"I get to shuttle the kids to school on my electric scooter. And, a kind neighbor taught me how to drive our car with a spinner knob on the steering wheel so I can shuttle the kids to activities."

Wow.

Eric still has a long way to go. The wounds on his feet still are not closed. And he faces a lot of physical therapy to regain use of his hands and...well...to walk.

Some "little things" really are bigger than others.