Preparations

This is one of those musings where I had a perfectly good 400 words blog on how we spend a large part of our lives getting ready. From starting an academic journey with preschool and kindergarten that prepares us for graduation, to planning a wedding, to adapting a home for a baby or an elderly relative, to wearing a suit for an important meeting, I had examples. I wrote about a friend who spent months preparing for a 3 week trip to China, concerned about what to take and the imposed weight limit. Her preparations paid off, for I’m getting occasional emails like "Glad I had a granola bar," or "I had the right clothes for the thrilling but hot 4 mile walk of the Great Wall."

But as I read what I’d written, I hadn’t made any point, so I had to think about why the topic of preparations was on my mind in the first place and where I really wanted to go with it. I realized it rose from the fact that I'm preparing for surgery. It continues with recognizing that too often we don’t understand how preparations are as much a process as they are tasks on a to-do list. Then there is an element of not exhausting ourselves with the preparations to the point that we cannot enjoy or participate in what we’ve been planning for. Or, how sometimes we are dreading what we are preparing for and how we need to plan to deal with that. It ends with the issue that we often forget to acknowledge, invite or accept other’s assistance in our preparations.

As someone who has worked very hard all her life to be self-sufficient, this is a time when others are contributing to my preparations and in a variety of ways. One friend knit a prayer shawl while another is treating me to a pre-surgery massage. Others will take me to the hospital and be there when I wake up, and two invited me to their home for recovery because they knew I would have trouble with the stairs at my new home right after surgery. A nurse walked me through a pamphlet on everything I need to know before, during and after my hospital stay.

I’ve shopped and packed and made plans and contingencies for home and office and treated myself to a pedicure. I have to believe that as I do my part, the others involved are also doing theirs. For me, it is very personal and, I hope, a one-time thing. For the surgeon and staff, their preparation is the routine, their norm, the everyday actions of their profession in dealing with dozens of people weekly and founded on their education, experience and honed expertise. For those in my life walking this journey with me, they are listening and hugging, praying, and planning the meals they will bring when I’m home.

There may not be something this significant going on in your life, but as you go through your routine preparations this week, I urge you to consider the elements involved in those normal activities and apply something that you’ve read here. Make sure that you are able to fully engage in what you are preparing, plan how to handle the unpleasant, and allow others to participate. And let me know how it changes things for you.

Marilyn

Success depends on previous preparation and without such preparation there is sure to be failure. Confucius.