It seems to me as though there is always something unsavory to deal with. Do you know what I mean, my friends? Good news comes knocking at our door, with sadness and worry right on its heels. Just when we think we are home safe, the whole world turns upside down.
I have a rewarding career but I have had my share of jobs that were simply unsuitable for me. Now, these jobs were wonderful for some; just not for me. I have stood on my feet all day lacing shoes, sewed tongues in leather sneakers, and skated over a hot and steamy potato plant floor that reeked with ammonia. I have even landed flat on my back in wet potato flakes! I have worked with sweethearts, and those who were simply not so sweet. I have been promoted, praised, and then simply thrown under the bus. (I still have the tread marks, by the way.)
We are told that what doesn’t kill us will just make us stronger, so we stand before the “firing squad” and shout, “Hit me with your best shot!” We feign strength, boast of our physical and emotional prowess, and crumble into a million pieces the moment we find ourselves alone. I wonder sometimes just what it is I am trying to prove to the world and to myself. I am often tempted to reach out and take the hand of a stranger and say, quite simply, “Life is tough sometimes, my friend. Let’s sit down together and share our heartbreak, a betrayal, the devastation of an illness, and the empty finality of death. And when we are finished, my friend, let’s have a good cry together. What do you say?”
I believe we get our strength from our humanity and our vulnerability, and every once in a while life delivers a blow that brings us to our knees. We all have yarns to share; chapters in the book that is our life and our experience. For as long as I can recall, I have loved to write. With pen in hand, I have trudged through unrequited love, the loss of my parents, profound mistakes, the trauma of peer pressure, the mean girl experience, a failed first marriage, cancer, and countless other events in my life. It has always been my goal to end each of my “yarns” with a pinch. of humor and a dash of hope. I have to confess here and now that I am not always so optimistic. From time to time, the search for that one ray of sun in a dire situation is difficult; if not impossible.
I have learned it is necessary to recognize heartache, fear, disappointment, and betrayal. It is healthy to pause for just a moment on this journey and allow ourselves the luxury of tears, anger, and even a clenched fist thrust toward the heavens. Some of us are simply not shoemakers or factory workers or doctors or lawyers. A few of us have pockets lined with gold and many of us live simply; existing from paycheck to paycheck. Our common denominator — our titanium bond — is this adventure we call life.
Belinda Wilcox Ouellette lives Connor TWP with her husband Dale and their Goldendoodle Barney. They are currently working on building a home in Caribou. You may contact Belinda online at: dbwouellette@ maine.rr.com.
