Making Lemonade

My mother encouraged me as a youth - make lemonade out of lemons. I understood this advice to mean that I should look for something good in everything that happens and apply what I learn to my life.

Yesterday was a day to make lemonade. I am task oriented and usually have my day planned, several days in advance. About one hour into the first task of the day, I received a call that Mary had passed out and that EMS was on the way.

Several lessons for me:

1. Stay in contact. As we age, things happen. I need to let people where I am, and I need to keep my cell phone with me. I normally don't have my phone with me when I'm working outside, but yesterday I was expecting a call from a service company so I had it with me.

2. Answer the phone. I don't like all the unsolicited calls I receive on my phone any more than anyone else does. But sometimes a call is important. I did not recognize the number yesterday but answered the phone, expecting a serviceman to tell me he was on the way. Instead a nurse told me EMS had been called for Mary. (When I answer now, I will be listening for ways to engage the caller in a profitable conversation!!)

3. Be proactive with respect to safety. As we age, we are prone to falling, passing out, dizziness and etc. We should be proactive to minimize the danger to ourselves and to others resulting from these incidents: (i) Follow the Two Adult Rule when working with children. The rule is: two adults must always be in a room with children. If Mary had been teaching in a preschool classroom by herself, there would have been at least short term chaos, (ii) Don't climb on ladders. This is a tough one for me because I think I need to continue to climb a ladder to change light bulbs and paint and trim the hedge, and ...One serious fall would cost more than the money I save by doing the work myself.

There are probably other lessons but these three certainly apply to me.