The Reverse Why Me?
I’m not a huge link-up person. I don’t have a problem with them, but they were never really my thing. But, I’ve found lately that growing a basketball sized object in your belly lends less time to fitness activities and more time for thinking. Sooo…I thought I would join in on Thinking Out Loud Thursday and share with you all my latest thoughts. Enjoy!
I’m sure all of you have heard about Brittany Maynard, the woman who is choosing to end her life in November due to a fatal brain tumor that would otherwise leave her in an immense amount of pain and overall diminish the quality of any additional time she may have left on this earth after November. Obviously this has struck people in so many different ways. I recently read a People Magazine article (I know my reading standards are high these days…I used to read the Wall Street Journal!) about her and I felt really saddened by her story. She got married in the fall of 2012 (I got married in the spring of 2012), she loved to travel, was active and in 2014 she and her husband decided to start a family. Instead, they found out she has an incurable brain tumor. So instead of painting a nursery and preparing herself to meet a little child, she is planning her death.
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Her story struck me because of our similarities. Obviously I don’t have a brain tumor or suffer from any horrific diseases, in fact, I’m really healthy. I’ve had a very healthy pregnancy and have remained active into my 37th week. Prior to becoming pregnant, I’ve always been very healthy with my main complaints being seasonal allergies. But, like her I’m young, married for a few years and how I’m starting a family. It made me think, why me? Not in the why-is-this-happening-to-me way, but in the why-ISN’T-this-happening-to-me. I feel like I’ve been very lucky in life. I truly love my life. I have a great family, awesome friends, a job and a blog I love and I get to spend my free time pursuing my passions. My major stressors are getting all my chores done and ensuring I get to bed at a reasonable hour. So why did I get so lucky?
Perhaps a lot of this is driven by the fact that I’m facing a joyous but simultaneously scary time. I’m obviously so excited to meet my child but like every mother I have anxiety over the birth going ok and whether my child will be healthy. I can’t control any of these things. I feel like I’ve been so lucky so far that it makes me wonder if the other shoe will drop. I feel like people can’t just sail on through life without hard times. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve certainly had to deal with stuff in the past, but lately it seems like things are kind of great. So how come some people have good luck and others bad?
Whatever side you take on the right to die issue is completely personal to you, but I hope that Brittany’s story at least makes you think about what you have in your own life and how you can make the most of it.
Readers, what do you think of Brittany Maynard’s story? Do you ever get anxiety over life being too good? How do you deal with adversity?