Tag: Life

A lesson in poetry

The road less traveled

The road less traveled

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

…Robert Frost

I was never very good at interpreting poetry in school but “The road less traveled” is one that I have been able to relate to a good portion of my life.  One that many of us have.  We face choices every single day and most of the time, not having the slightest idea what the outcome will be.  We try to see into the future as far as we can, thinking of every single way a situation can turn out.  We rely on our gut instinct, or pray about it, hoping it will all turn out okay.

I am often in this situation each day in dealing with the boys’ MD.  Whether the decision is big, such as whether a surgery will be worth the risk; or small, such as what to give the boys for dinner, we stand at the edge of the wood like Robert Frost did.  We have made good decisions, such as keeping the boys on a wholesome, mostly vegetarian diet to reduce inflammation; and we have made bad decisions, such as staying in a hotel room with unaccessible features that ended up causing prolonged back pain for Christian.  With every choice we all do our best and that is all that matters.  I firmly believe, and have experienced, that God helps us out of difficult situations that were the result of a bad choice because He knows that our choices are made out of love.  I also firmly believe that every choice we have made, good and bad, has brought the boys to where they are today – happy, healthy and full of vigor for life!

The path we are on is also the less traveled one.  We have made many choices that we knew would require more work but did it anyway because we wanted to do what was best for the boys.  I read a saying that basically said that when we make the hard decisions today, it will make for a better tomorrow.  This has been true in our case.  We opted for the boys to have spinal fusion to correct their scoliosis and as a result, they sit up better in their chairs and their lungs can fully expand.

Drew before his spinal fusion surgery at Shriners
Drew before his spinal fusion surgery at Shriners
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After spinal fusion

We will continue to face big and small decisions and an unknown future.  This can create a lot of fear and a good amount of uncertainty, but if we do the best we can with what we have today, it will all turn out just fine.  All I have to do is see one of the boys’ beautiful smiles to know this.

Ma Haney

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Years ago, my husband’s grandmother from Tennessee, Dona Haney, told me that I needed to write a book to tell of our everyday experience and struggles with muscular dystrophy.  I thought it sounded like a brilliant idea but something that I would need to hold off on for a while.  Well, maybe this could be the beginning!

Dona and Dave’s grandfather, Gene Haney, have driven all the way up here from Tennessee several times to visit.  They are in their 80’s and enjoy traveling.  Dave has always called them Ma and Pa.  Ma, despite her congestive heart failure and diabetes, has continued doing what she enjoys such as going to the Smokey Mountains, attending family reunions and weddings, traveling all the way to Montana and California and spending a lot of time with family.

Even though it was tiring and they had to stay in a hotel while they were here, Ma and Pa made it over for the boys GED graduation this past spring!  It was a wonderful time.

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Our neighbors, Len and JoAnn, came over to celebrate with us as they usually do for special events.  I was playing the Gene Autrey radio station on Pandora (since Len likes a little “C & W” as he calls it) and him and Pa were seeing who could guess what song was on.  It was great!

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Although Len and Pa had only spoken once before on a previous visit, they really hit it off!  People from their generation are more easy going I guess!

I wanted to share this with you because it was Ma who inspired me years ago to tell our story.  She is an inspiration to me in so many ways, Pa too.  They worked hard through life to earn everything they own, they are always willing to help others and they are a blessing.  Before they left this past spring, Pa’s advice to me was to not take life so seriously because it goes by too fast!  God bless and enjoy the rest of your Sunday all!

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