Thursday – 6/2/2016

Is it really June already?

The past few weeks were a bit of a whirlwind. Between Lindsey getting married, me moving into a new home, spending a week in the hospital and then undergoing (successful) surgery, I had enough to keep me occupied.

However, I can’t help to feel like I am behind schedule on other things I want to accomplish.

There’s a stack of Getting Back Up applications sitting on my desk, a few other projects I’ve had to keep on the back burner, a growing number of items on my infamous To Do list, and one major endeavor I want to achieve.

Yet, there is a strange and measured feeling of contentment as I think about everything I want to tackle over the next several months.

I vividly remember the feelings that held me hostage that first night I spent in my apartment after being injured. I had finally arrived in my own place after living in a hospital and nursing home for the previous 20 months. But as I laid in bed I found myself filled with a melancholy that shouldn’t have been there.

After all, I was finally achieving some type of normalcy that I had set out to do.

But that was just it.

I had weaned myself off the vent, weaned myself off of the diaphragmatic pacer, had my trach removed, founded a nonprofit, and moved into my own place. Yet, as I laid in bed, all I could think was “Now What?”

At that precise moment, I couldn’t see a path to the next goal in front of me. I couldn’t even see a goal.

And by goal, I don’t mean getting my body to move again. That to me is a constant absolute that I work towards every day. Rather, in this case, I’ll define a goal, as something I can write down, work towards, and achieve in a specified period of time.

I’ve always been goal driven, and lying in bed that night without knowing what my next objective was going to be, left me feeling more helpless, useless, and defeated than the break in my neck. Had I nothing else to look forward to?

Luckily, it didn’t take long before I started to write down one thing after another that I was going to do. At first, my objectives weren’t of mammoth proportion, but little things, that when strung together, begin to resemble bigger things that once seemed far-reaching.

To this day, I’ve continued with that practice, while also making room on the page for much larger aspirations. And I’m excited about some of the next things I’ll be working towards.

In between I still plan to continue with giving my talks to a variety of audiences. I recently received a call from the US Department of Veteran Affairs, and will be speaking to some of its employees late next week. Very excited and honored to engage with that audience.

I’ll also be looking forward to summer, which is always a great time to catch up with friends who find various reasons to make it to Cleveland. In fact, a former colleague of mine from Trex was in town with his family this past weekend and was able to swing by my new place for a visit. One of the things I love about catching up with friends from days gone by, is that in a strange way it also serves as a reminder of all the different adventures my life has taken me on.

If I can make a request, please say a prayer for my good friend, Father Damian, whose dad recently passed away. Also, a special thanks to Mark and Tina, who recently met Pope Francis on their honeymoon and asked him to pray for me.

Finally, one immediate goal I’m eagerly looking forward to is celebrating a long-awaited Cleveland sports championship! Here’s hoping the Cleveland Cavaliers bring home a title to Believeland!

As always, thank you for all the support and prayers!

Stand Strong!

Scott

(h/t to Isaac)