2007: The Screws Go In, The Screws Come Out

2007 has been a very interesting year. As with all years, it has had its fair share of ups and downs. And speaking of "downs", some of you might recall that last January my wife Denyse had a nasty fall that resulted in a fractured hip.  You can review the whole story here, but basically the hip bone was fractured at the head and the orthopedist surgically installed 3 screws in the hip bone to stabilize it. 

That also meant 4 weeks in a wheelchair.  She was able to start walking semi-normally not long after that, but it was definitely not fun situation for anyone involved.   That certainly qualifies as one of the years low points.  But we all survived. 

In August, Denyse and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary.  I had colluded with family members to surprise Denyse with a trip to Hawaii for the us and our boys.  She was further surprised when several of our family members were also able to join us for an amazing 7 days.  The full story is here and here.

I'm happier than I look

That was definitely the year's high point.  That time with with my wife, my boys and our family was truly priceless.

There were others ups and downs to be sure.  But here is what is most interesting and I have found this to be quite common yet largely unrecognized: life's true "lows" and "highs" have very little to do with money.  Many people I know are always freaking out about finances. I cannot in good conscience exclude myself from that group, but  good and wise friend of mine once said "If your problems can be solved with money they probably are not that important."  And those words have helped me regain my center on several occasions. 

Back to the screws.  It seems almost poetic that while our year started with screws going in, it ends with screws coming out.  Last week Denyse had her hip screws removed, thankfully without incident.  There are 3 holes in her hip from where the screws were but those should fill in within the next few weeks and she will once again have full function.

 
The Actual Screws
The dollar is for size comparison, not complex metaphor

So while every once in a while life gives you screws, it also gives you Hawaii  (plus, sometimes you even get the screws removed.) I know sometimes it feels like life is nothing but screws, take a moment and find your center, find your Hawaii.  Live well, be happy & enjoy life.

Wishing you a happy 2008, with much Hawaii and no screws,

Joshua Carter
Carter Fitness
http://carterfitness.com