The Cloud Has Lifted

Everything looks brighter. Sounds silly, but it's true. It's amazing how simply feeling physically well can change everything.

And about that cloud -- my husband's cousin called several weeks ago to see how I'd been faring when she blurted out, "you sure have a black cloud hanging over you." Huh? Did she really say that? She sure did. And her words got stuck in my head like a bad LP spinning round and round, over and over, in my brain.

Black cloud? Me? I've always thought that my life's been somewhat enchanted. Even as a kid, things always came fairly easy to me. I was a great student, had lots of friends, a wonderful family, and so much more. Then, as I became an adult, I stumbled into my first job with a wonderful company, met some of the most interesting people I'll probably ever meet, got promotion after promotion, experienced some of the world, and so much more. Eventually, I married a great guy, had two beautiful, perfect children, a beautiful home, and so much more. Black cloud?

Black cloud. I asked her what she meant. She said that in the past many years I've had to deal with back surgery twice and that I broke my ankle a couple of winters ago. Does that really mean I'm living with a Black Cloud hanging over my head? I think not. C'mon. Almost all my friends have one malady or another. Everyone's on meds for everything: high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and on and on and on. Me? Nope. None of the above. So, I've suffered a couple of acute injuries, but have no chronic conditions. And I'm the one with the cloud?

I guess that perhaps what shocked me most was that I just couldn't believe she'd say such a thing because I've never thought that way about myself or anyone else. And if I did, I surely wouldn't say it. If someone did, in fact, seem to have a Black Cloud hanging over them, I would not want to point it out. I just can't imagine thinking it, never mind saying it aloud.

So, if I did have a Black Cloud hanging over me, it's gone. And if, maybe just maybe, it ever truly existed for me, it came with a silver lining.