Moral of the Story

Cindy Trane Christeson

“God, please teach me to appreciate what I have before time forces me

to appreciate what I had.” -- Susan Lenzkes

I am embarrassed at how easy it is to take my daily blessings for

granted. I was reminded of that in a big way several months ago when my

husband, Jon, and I sat and sipped coffee on the bluffs above Big Corona

Beach in Corona del Mar.

While we sipped and stared at the enormous surf across the bay at the

Wedge, a beautiful young woman motored by in an electric wheelchair,

accompanied by a golden retriever.

She sat and looked across at the waves for awhile and then an elderly

gentleman sitting on a nearby bench struck up a conversation with her.

Since they weren’t very far from us, I heard most of what they said.

At first they talked about her beautiful dog, who kept looking

expectantly at the woman, clearly waiting for her instruction. The young

woman showed the man how the dog helped her. When she dropped her keys,

she told her dog to pick them up. The dog didn’t move. She repeated the

command, and then the dog picked the keys up carefully in his mouth and

placed them on her lap.

“I haven’t had him for very long, so we still have some work to do,”

she said.

Then the woman talked about her wheelchair, and the accident that

landed her there.

“It’s so odd that my accident was in the water because I was a swimmer

in college and was as comfortable in the water as I was out of it,” she

said. “But like so many spinal injuries, mine was just a fluke. I was

with friends and we were just playing around. I got pushed and by the

time I realized I was going to fall into the lake, I couldn’t make myself

land right. Instead I hit my head on a submerged rock bar and have been

paralyzed ever since.”

I was impressed with the young woman’s attitude. She clearly seemed to

value being able to do whatever she could, and appreciate that she was

alive.

“At least I know what I’m dealing with,” she said. “I have a friend

with a progressively debilitating disease, and I’ve watched him go from

walking with braces to crutches and now he too is in a wheelchair. But he

knows he will continue to weaken. So, I’m really very fortunate.”

They both turned their attention back to the big waves that were

crashing over the jetty. Her words came crashing into my mind. She was

indeed fortunate.

I stopped listening to them and started looking at my life. I took out

some paper and started writing all the ways God has blessed me. After I

wrote the names of 20 people, I realized I’d only scratched the surface.

They talked a bit more and then the man stood up and left. The dog

laid down next to his master. That beautiful young woman may be disabled

on the outside, but on the inside, she is a gold-medal Olympian.

And you can quote me on that.

CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks frequently

to parenting groups. She can be reached via e-mail at cindy@onthegrow.com

or through the mail at P.O. Box 6140-No. 505, Newport Beach 92658.