The live of dogs and cats are often measured in a number of people years, such as one dog year being equal to 7 human years. Most individuals typically celebrate a birthday annually, I discovered during my teenage years that my life’s biggest challenges and most significant lessons seemed to occur every two years! I say every two years because during the course of my adolescence I suffered from five ailments, remarkably occurring two years apart each time. Despite the unique nature of these incidents, I learned a great deal about my inner resources and life. The entire time my mother’s willingness to dispense clichés helped me overcome these challenges and learn about life more deeply, if I did not fully appreciate them with each new hearing.
When I was seven, I broke my leg in an accident while playing with a friend. I rested in the hospital with my new cast on I found cool. My mother recognized my unhappiness despite my front and said, “When given lemons, make lemonade.” The wisdom behind this proverb, often labeled a cliché, I did not recognize. After all, I was seven and my mother was talking about me being thirsty when it was my leg that was broken. While laid up, I became an expert at puzzles and became champion of my class in our puzzle contest. I didn’t realize aside from being pushed around in a cool wheel chair my accident had been responsible for learning a new skill.
Two years later I developed a rare childhood disease known as Henoch-Schonlein Purpura. From my mother’s penchant for catalogues, I originally thought this “German” disease had something to do with kitchen utensils as she received the Hammacher Schlemmer catalogue. The disease intrigued me more than a broken leg, because it caused purple spots to appear on my skin and caused blood cells to burst leaving bruises. I was dismayed over all the blood tests I endured, however. My parents told me another proverb, “
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