Row boat half full or half empy?

I am a big believer that we can choose a joyous life. While we cannot control the circumstances that befall us, we can choose how we view those circumstances. I am a “row boat half full” kind of girl. Always have been. That does not mean that my life has always been happy or without loss. I just choose to find the good, the takeaway lesson, the simple moment of humanity. It is those moments that sustain us against the losses and heartache that every life will experience. And sometimes, I just have to believe that karma will find a way to balance it all out.

This spring, I lost a friend to an unexpected heart attack. He was a brilliant, quirky, funny, father of three and husband to a close friend of mine. We had all been together that night, partying, dancing, and celebrating spring and 4 hours later he was gone. Just like that. It was shocking, sad, and unexplainable. Everyone who knew him was devastated.

In our sorrow, we wanted to help, to do something. Frankly, we needed to do something. Paul wasn’t much for yard work and his yard reflected it. A little overgrown and a little neglected. So a text went out a day or two after his death, we are going to clean up the yard so when Ange and the kids come home it will shine. It will feel happy and taken care of.

The next day, a Monday, we all arrived after work with work gloves and rakes. It was a cold, rainy miserable day and 20 friends showed up to honor Paul and his family by cleaning up the yard. We weeded, planted flowers, mulched, took down rotted trees, cleaned off the patios, organized the toys in the yard, we cried, we hugged, and we kept on working. Three hours later, drenched and chilled to the bone, we shared a beer and toasted Paul. It was an act of pure humanity for a friend lost to soon. A row boat half full moment in life.