They are all going on holiday, except me! I have to stay in that hot and sticky, humid weather, in an overpopulated, polluted big city all through this summer, while everyone else is having fun! I am stuck with my mother who cannot travel this year because of age and health problems.

Discouraged by my circumstances, I feel sorry for myself, burdened, imprisoned, suffocating and even a bit jealous of others. I feel miserable, hopeless and helpless, certainly going downhill.

What a bleak  prospective! Yes, I have nothing to look forward to. So do I hang down my head, feel frustrated and go on complaining? There must be a way out other than murmuring to myself that this too would pass.

When I started my brisk walking last night, I called two friends who gladly joined me.  It was after midnight when I arrived at my mother’s home, where the apartment was still very hot, compared to the slightly cooler breeze outside. I turned on the air-conditioner and  then sat at my computer. 

Thank God I have an air-conditioner, I thought, and a computer, and… I kept remembering a lot more. In a country like mine, having an air-condition is a luxury that I never think of, I take it for granted like so many other things in my life. I thought of the millions that have none. Then I went on…and thank God for having ‘true’ friends, and for being a member at that prestigious club since the day I was born.  And it is even within walking distance, no parking  problem. I found myself suddenly finding so many little things in my daily life that I was so thankful for, especially comparing my life to others.

My attitude started changing, I felt better while thinking about positive things. This led me to change my perspective, look at my present situation with a different attitude. I have more time, I can do those things that I have been postponing for so long, like filing, organizing things, learning to meditate, starting to take care of my health which I have been neglecting, lose weight, lazing around doing nothing, stopping to look at my life and evaluating it; and the list can go on and on…

Wow! Just thinking of all this is already giving me a huge boost. I now realize that whichever situation I am put in, it is up to me to choose, find a detour, and make the best out of it. I now understand that I was going to get myself stuck, not with my poor old mother, but with my own negative thoughts and attitude.

Last, but not at all least, as a caregiver, I will have the opportunity to ‘care’ for my mother, ‘give’ her love, time and moral support which she needs badly. And definitely doing something good always leads to true happiness and satisfaction, which in return can help me do other things with enthusiasm. 

As always, dear God, I need your help! Grant me enough patience while staying with my mother, who at times can drive me crazy; and then, if I forget, remind me of all those great thoughts and good intentions, so that I stick to them and actually turn them into reality.