Man, it sure is quiet and lonely here now without Bryce and
Joan. Wonder what I will do today.

Oh, wait, it isn’t quite 8 a.m. and I don’t even think they
have left town yet.

Anyway, this may be the final chapter in the Bryce Repair
Job blog. The Bostocks are heading home to B.C. this morning. The boy landed in
Calgary September 4 seriously broken following an accident and now he has been

repaired. All is good.

I think an event like this, which hopefully most of us won’t
have to deal with in life, just fractures a family’s sense of well being right
to the core. I don’t think I have ever seen four people so anxious to get back
to the same, old, boring routine of home life – a place where they can get up
in the morning and go to bed at night knowing that all is reasonably right in
their world.

It is that closing scene from The Waltons, for those old
enough to remember that TV series. A nighttime picture of a quiet farmhouse,
and the voices in the dark… “Goodnight Daddy, Goodnight Momma, Good night Mary
Ellen, Goodnight John Boy….” And then the light goes out. As corny as it was,

that is the peace we all long for in our daily lives – to turn that light out
at the end of the day with peace of mind. 

So there must be some life lessons from this Bryce Repair
story:

1. A head
   is not harder than a rock.
2. Best
   friends are lifesavers in so many ways.
3. The
   health care system does work when you need it.
4. Never
   underestimate the power of prayer and positive thinking.
5. When
   the chips are down, family and friends come out of the woodwork.
6. The
   green paste on a hospital meal tray may not be real food.

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7. Even a
   short walk in the sunshine and fresh air is a wonderful thing.
8. Ice
   cream is good – especially a Marble Slab waffle cone covered in candy sprinkles.
   (But nine bucks, who knew?).
9. It is
   amazing how smart and capable some16-year-olds are, if you just take the
   time to listen.
10. The
    road home sometimes seems long, but it is fantastic once you get there.

If I have one tiny but important criticism we all can learn
from – don’t ever delay in playing your Ace sympathy card. If Bryce had been on
the ball that first week of recovery I’m sure he could have whispered through
the tubes and bandages, “Mom, Dad, I would really feel a lot better if I had a
new truck” and bam, there would have been a new pickup waiting for him in the
hospital parking lot. But, no, he dawdled and now I fear that window of
opportunity has closed. He’ll be lucky to get a Happy Meal at McDonalds in
Canmore on the way home today.

One other lesson that could be added to the list – on those
days when you have a kid, or a spouse, or friend who is important in your life,
bugging the hell out of you, and you could just throttle them, take a moment to
dig down deep somewhere and appreciate the fact they are still there, even if
they are driving you nuts.

Lee Hart is a long time blogger and social media guru
who can be reached at [email protected]

 

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