Healing

Sometimes we all just need to take a little break, and I have to admit that I was more than ready for mine. My husband and I had planned a trip to Florida for early May before we knew that he would be having major surgery this past Spring. For a little while we both believed that the trip would have to be cancelled, so you can imagine our relief when the surgeon gave his permission to go, pointing out that my husband could recover at a beachfront condo just as well as he could at home.

But when my husband’s hospital stay extended a week longer than it should have, we still thought that our much-anticipated vacation wasn’t going to happen. I told myself that it didn’t matter, and that as soon as my husband was better we’d go on a trip somewhere fun, but deep down I was very disappointed. It’s been a very tough year for my family, and I really wanted to spend a week relaxing at on my beloved Sanibel Island. I actually felt foolish for looking forward to this trip so much, because the past few months had me almost conditioned to be afraid to look forward to much of anything at all.

I know adversity can make us stronger and more focused on what’s important in our lives, and that’s a very good thing. But sometimes, it can also train us to believe that not only is “the glass half empty,” but that it’s bone dry and will remain that way forever. When disappointments and bad news come at us too quickly, or when difficult circumstances last for too long, it can become very hard to hang on to our optimistic attitudes and to allow ourselves to really believe that things will ever improve. Or at least that’s been my experience.

But you know what? Despite the need for a major surgery we thought he had avoided, and despite the complications that kept my husband in the hospital much longer than we had anticipated, we were able to go on our trip. My daughter and her family joined us, and we had a wonderful family time just hanging out together, walking the beach, swimming, and (in my husband’s case) taking LOTS of much-needed naps.

I can honestly say that my husband made great strides in his recovery during our trip, which was a real blessing. But he wasn’t the only one who benefited from our week away from it all. With each passing day, I felt my spirits lifting just a little bit more. My heart began to feel lighter, and I felt calmer and more at peace than I had in a long, long time. The experience was healing for both of us, just in different ways.

ZWZqbuKtTFOCLFbCPIs2oA I know that I was very lucky to be able to go on vacation recently, and that many people are still living under restrictions that don’t allow any travel at all. But my point is that all of us, no matter what our circumstances, would benefit from finding a way to take a break from our problems and spending even a little time doing whatever we can to recharge our bodies and refresh our souls. Keeping hope alive and finding those moments of happiness isn’t always easy, but it is always worth the effort.

For the past several years, my husband and I have chosen to celebrate our birthdays by taking a short trip together, and this year my husband chose to go to Sanibel Island. We had booked our trip for the third weekend in September long before anyone started talking about Hurricane Irma. But when the category-five hurricane hit southwest Florida in early September, we figured our chances of celebrating my husband’s birthday on Sanibel Island ranged from small to none. Honestly, we knew our disappointment over a cancelled trip was absolutely nothing compared to the hardship endured by those in the hurricane’s path. The televised images of Irma’s landfall were devastating and the suffering it caused was beyond heart-breaking.

After the hurricane, we followed the news to see the extent of the damage, partly to know when we would be able to contact the resort in order to cancel our reservations. Since Sanibel is a barrier island just fifty–some miles from Naples, which took a direct hit, we weren’t even sure if the resort would still be standing. Both my husband and I love Sanibel Island and have visited it many times since we discovered it over thirty years ago. It was painful to realize there was a very real possibility that the hurricane had destroyed the island, or damaged it beyond recognition.

Amazingly, Sanibel sustained very little damage from the hurricane that wreaked so much havoc on other parts of Florida and the Caribbean. We checked the city’s official web page obsessively, so we knew when electricity and water service was restored, when the streets and been cleared of the tangle of branches and trees, and when businesses began to reopen. Then the resort actually called us to say they were up and running and ready for visitors.

Part of me felt guilty for even thinking of going on vacation in a state where so many people were still struggling with tremendous loss. But we went ahead with our trip for two reasons. One, we knew that Sanibel (like much of Florida) has an economy that is directly tied to tourism and losing that income would make it even harder to recover from the hurricane. Secondly, both of us felt a strong need to see for ourselves that our beloved Sanibel Island really was okay.

And it was. True, the signs of the hurricane were everywhere, from the piles of uprooted trees and torn limbs by the side of the road waiting to be picked up, to the hand-lettered “We’re Open!” signs outside many stores and restaurants. We saw utility trucks from all over the country as workers continued to restore power to nearby communities. And everywhere we went, people would ask each other “How are you doing?” “Is your power back on yet?” “Did your house sustain much damage?” Perfect strangers were constantly offering each other encouragement and support as they traded stories of surviving the hurricane.

I have always believed Sanibel Island is a beautiful place. And this visit didn’t change my view, despite the signs of damage and the piles of debris from the storm. Because this time, the beauty I saw wasn’t limited to the palm trees and the sandy white beaches. This time, I saw a community coming together through hope and hard work, repairing the damage and moving forward with determination and optimistic pride. And that was the most beautiful thing of all.