For those of you who know my mom, Doreen, you’re already aware that she’s awesome.
For the rest of you, I’ve no choice but to educate you. 🙂
My mom’s cracked tooth
My mom recently had a cracked tooth because of some problems with her dental fillings. Due to other complications, she needed to get her tooth extracted.
So, just a few weeks ago, she went for the operation.
Here’s what her jaw looked like immediately after the procedure:
She could hardly talk.
She couldn’t eat solid food.
She was in horrible pain.
And the worst part: Her dentist told her that it would take three months for her to recover fully.
The first night after the operation, things were bad.
Her gums bled for more than an hour, and she used up an entire bag of cotton wool to stop the bleeding. She told me the next day that she was afraid of passing out due to the blood loss!
The toughest woman in the world
Despite all this, she was back to work the next day.
As the manager of Genesis Gym, she was replying emails and running the show as usual.
She also continued writing her second book, The Happy Mom, which is scheduled to be published later this year.
She even cleaned the house and cooked a delicious dinner.
(The rest of the family told her to take it easy, but she just wouldn’t listen!)
The most amazing thing: She was cheerful as always, and never once complained.
Yup, that’s my mom.
She has an incredible sense of duty, and she’s continually thinking of others.
Here are four life lessons I’ve learned from my mom through these events:
1. Focus on other people, not your own pain.
There will always be pain in our lives: physical discomfort, broken relationships, financial concerns, an uncertain future.
But when we focus on the needs of others, we begin to realize that the world doesn’t revolve around us and our pain. Life is far more meaningful when we get beyond ourselves.
