Last night I was feeling pretty dejected after what had been a below average 24-hours. Co-Consul arrived home late and we talked until far-too-late about the world and it gave me a reminder that even the preceding 24-hours had been nothing to worry about.

You see Co-Consul went out last night with a friend of ours who’s child has a manageable  yet very serious disease. Without going into any detail which may identify this person or their child, there was an incident at the child’s school recently which resulted in emergency action having to be taken to prevent her slipping into a coma and dying. Our young friend came through feeling a bit sick, but otherwise fine which was a fantastic outcome all things considered.

I imagined myself having to take THAT call from our school and oh boy does my life look mundane and rather warm and cosy by comparison. Even with a large dent in the car and a split lip. Let me just put it out there – our friend is an INCREDIBLE person, she takes these thing with a grace and patience that I physically do not possess. Of course she gets upset (who wouldn’t), but there are few people in the world I respect more. Her daughter also deals with her cards life has dealt her with amazing ease and a cheeky confidence. We are fortunate to know them.

To add to my healthy dose of perspective, this morning I learned that the bridge was closed to road traffic as well as trains last night, so even my bus would have been stranded and possibly for longer because that exit we missed because I was blind would have taken us right into the mess on the bridge, while the road we accidentally went down took us through the perfectly clear tunnel.

Amazing what half a good night’s sleep will do for your perspective.

— IEK