September was a little hectic for me. Delilah has been acting as an extra on a tv show (which I am happy for her, just the timing is terrible), I was trying to wrap up everything at work before I left, and there was a myriad of issues to take care of while selling our house.
But at its core, I guess that is life. If the road were flat and easy, I… would be able to finish this analogy. But it’s not. There are all kinds of bumps in the road.
After receiving a successful leak test from a plumber, our realtor thought I should take some time and celebrate. It was something the buyer had been hung up on so it was good to have it resolved. I responded that I try not to have the high highs or the low lows, just focus on the next task.
Towards the end of the month, I invited myself to go to Disneyland with my sister-in-law and her kids the week before our house closed. I was also really excited to see our friend Erica in LA do stand-up comedy for the first time.
At the office, they were planning a going-away party for me. The party was scheduled for Thursday and I had been working on a hilarious painting I wanted to give to my boss in front of everyone. It was Wednesday and I knew I only had one more evening to work on it. I had a little sore throat coming on. I assumed this was allergies due to the weather changing.
After I got home, I started working on the painting. Quickly I realized I was feeling achy all over. On one of my breaks I came in from our garage and checked my phone. My brother-in-law had sent a text letting us know that my niece and nephew tested positive for Covid. We had just hung out with them the prior Sunday.
Going back to the painting, I started feeling worse and developed chills in my rather hot garage. I called my coworker throwing the party and said we had to cancel, that I was pretty sure I had Covid. A rapid test was scheduled for the next morning but I felt like I already knew the result.
And trust me, no one loves a party more than me. And no one loves celebrating me more than me. A party for me? You couldn’t believe how hard it was to cancel.
By the time I finished my painting, I was shivering uncontrollably and was achy all over. I must have had a fever and felt a little delirious. I took a really long bath and started to think if I were to die, then what?
There are many people out there who didn’t know what they meant to me. Then I thought how cool would it be just to write down all their names and write them basically letters of gratitude or advice that I thought they could use in their life. I imagined a document that I would update for years and add feelings towards everyone and upon my actual death, they would be given basically a love note.
The next day, I tested positive for Covid, and my family and I have been quarantined in our house since.
While this might seem like another obstacle, being locked in has been great. It was like I was granted permission for a big project I have been meaning to do. Now have the time to do it. Also, I was able to cancel the non-refundable hotel and flight for Disneyland due to Covid (it opens doors!).
We will be out of quarantine only a few days before we close on our house. I had hoped to do my rounds and say goodbye to people before we jetted off but I doubt I will be able to do more than hang out with my old work crew one last time.
Setbacks don’t have to set us back. All these little things are put in our way so we can figure out how to get over them and become better people in the process.
Onward!
If you didn’t want to see me before you took off, all you had to do was say so. I hate goodbyes too. Maybe I should just crash the HZ party!
Wha… what! I’ll call you we might be able to squeeze in lunch before I jet. Dash will be coming with us most likely though.
Don’t worry Sam, we still celebrated your departure 😅
Haha! You guys are finally free.
You’re still alive and that’s the most important of it all! It’s so interesting how we move through life and it’s not ever quite as we plan or expect anymore. Will your family unit survive too? This will prob be my one and only comedy show, but I may have a new profession 😆Be well, Be healthy and Be you!!
Yes, the family is thriving. Watch out you might catch the comedy bug!
“Setbacks don’t have to set us back. All these little things are put in our way so we can figure out how to get over them and become better people in the process.“
Words to live by, well said Sam 🙂👍 Glad you’re feeling better.
“No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself.” -Seneca
Sometimes I think of when we first met in Vietnam, inside that POW Camp. How we took turns falling asleep. You could only go to sleep when I gently brushed your hair back and kept the sun out of your eyes. Sometimes I forget about all the problems that come at me when I sit down and think about charlie not trying to kill me anymore. Then on the worst days, I think about all the napalm that was wasted on the wrong folks. I am left with the experience that there isn’t enough firepower to make you feel invulnerable. There isn’t enough time to truly make the people you surround feel as loved as they make you feel. Sometimes you just have to make a fake name on a profile and tell your Sam Watson you will miss him as a person and that Charlie Don’t Surf!
I think your heart will open up to others and you will feel their love in time. My secret to being right was not to try to be right, just to seek the truth and not being afraid of being wrong. It just happened that I was right often because of this. Allow your focus to shift and win. I’ll miss ya, little buddy.