It’s time to usher the year 2020 out the door. Much has been learned personally, about politics and a disease that has attacked our world. Feelings and relationships have escalated or deteriorated beyond our imaginations. With challenges faced during these unprecedented times, it’s important to just stop and reflect on the old before moving on to the new.
Wilma Moore-Black
Some of the frightening experiences that I had during January to November were health-related and almost unbelievable. My Aetna-Medicare kidney nurse Melissa has coached and taught me much about patient advocacy. I learned it does make a difference to not only learn how your body works, but also be able to share that information with your medical team. I’m determined to bowl and travel again, so I must get my legs and arms get stronger. To keep living, strengthening my heart must be a daily exercise routine.
That means some serious lifestyle changes have had to happen. My five grandchildren are motivation to make this life’s journey remain a meaningful one. It’s important to them — ages 2 to 18 — that I keep living a healthy lifestyle to stay involved in their lives. My presence, despite limping from my bad left knee or taking power naps in the middle of the day, matters to and contributes to the happiness of my grandchildren’s lives. My two adult children are grown, established in their own right and will live their lives as I have trained them. It is a tribute to my legacy that they will pass on to their children and for that I am truly thankful and grateful.
Now, Wilma, who loves to be called GGMomma, has to manage her stress and put her self-care first. Doctors say if it’s toxic, move it out of your life. My medical team is always blunt and straightforward with me. I’m fighting a triple threat against my life: congestive heart failure, kidney disease and the Type 2 diabetes that’s been with me more than 15 years. And I’m still sassy and hard-headed about being still.
So, I am grateful for each day of my life. Gratitude changes your attitude about life, and my faith keeps me free from the fear of death. I know this is not my eternal home. God is my source. Yet, my doctor has told me to be careful because I have a deadly combination of complicated, health issues that could end my life long before the COVID-19 virus hits me.
In conclusion, we grow when we can learn from our life’s experiences, especially in 2020. I want to grasp a breath of fresh air and renewed energy just thinking about 2021. That number emerges so naturally to me because it was the street address of the home I grew up at: 2021 E. 11th St. in Wichita.
Those memories seem a lifetime ago. 2021, hurry on in so we can see the beauty of life emerge another day. Let the sunshine in because I want to live well and find happiness however it shows up. Enjoy every precious minute, especially those random acts of kindness.
Be thankful and grateful for the simplest things. I hope you have a safe and Happy New Year!
– Wilma Moore-Black
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