“Oh, Abby dear. Hello!” Maga said.
“Hi! How are you feeling?”
“Well…” Her voice, stronger than I was expecting, trailed off. “I don’t want to complain.”
“If you need to complain, go for it.”
“Really?”
I admit I was forewarned about her potential state of mind. She has a ruptured disk in her back and the pain has been at maximum capacity. I was expecting… not to reach her… to be honest. And I definitely wasn’t expecting her usual tone or cadence so when I heard her voice, I was immediately cheered and inspired to maintain a similar tone.
“How is your weather?” she asked in an effort at normalcy or maybe just to distract herself, I wasn’t entirely sure. I decided to play along.
“It’s very August. Hot and humid,” I said.
“Any rain?”
“Not yet. That’s probably why it’s so hot and humid still.”
“Well, if it rains at night, so be it.”
She had a point, which I made her clarify to be sure. If it rains at night, you still have the whole day to enjoy. But what I wanted her to know is that sometimes it’s okay if it rains during the day, when you expect it to be sunny, when you want it to be sunny, or if you’re hoping for sun. The pain can add up and bear down, and it’s totally fine to embrace the dark clouds and wallow in it all. As long as she knows (and you too, dear Reader) there are people who love and cherish her (and you, dear Reader) and appreciate any attempt to put on a cheerful front and slog through the pain and rain.
Abigail Mumford 