The Decisions We Make

Each day, right or wrong, we find ourselves having to make decisions. Sometimes they are minor ones and sometimes they are major decisions which change the course of our lives and the lives of others. Lately, I’ve had to make some decisions that were quite important.

A few weeks back, I made the decision to have surgery on my left eye. Not only did it have a thick cataract covering it and preventing my being able to see out of it, but I also have glaucoma and needed a type of surgery for it. I had that surgery six days ago. Because there were certain things that I would not be able to do for a week following the surgery, my oldest daughter was asked if she could help and she agreed to come out along with my son, and spend the week, doing those things that needed done. I was given instructions by the doctor not to bend over, squat down or in any way, put pressure on my eye after the surgery. This meant I could not change litter boxes, bend down to feed my cats, lift anything over ten pounds, and so forth.So my daughter’s job was pretty simple - feed the cats twice a day according to a schedule (once in the morning and once in the evening) - to scoop out their litter boxes twice a day or as needed, and to clean the habitat cage which was set up for a cat I was fostering. Normally, the most time I would spend doing these things would be about an hour, a little longer depending on the day. She also volunteered to do dishes and cook - two things that I could’ve done because they required no bending. I was told to sit back and heal. That lasted less than twenty-four hours.

What I found myself doing was double the amount of work, double the amount of bending and squating and lifting! Needless to say, because of that - I fear that the damage done to my left eye after surgery was done (from day one actually). My daughter and son made their decision to leave on day three following the surgery, un-happy with the knowledge that I had complained about the mountains of soda cans piling up on tables and the spilling of it all over my carpeting, or of them either spending the day sleeping away (I have photos of that) - or with their noses buried in their phones and computers. That had been their decision, to use my surgery to get away from their normal routine and use this as an excuse for a vacation of sorts. That was their decision. Mine had been in believing that they would’ve helped me through these days. Both decisions were bad ones - I have learned from mine.

I am about to make another decision.
Originally, it had been my intention that should anything ever happen to me, I would leave everything to my daughter - the house, the contents of it, etc. with the promise that should any of my cats still be here, that she care for the cats until their passing. That was the only stipulation. Well, she has shown me that even though she is well into her adult years (as is my son) - even as an adult, she is not responsible enough nor adult enough to handle such a burden. So as of this date, it will be my decision to change my will and exclude her and her brother from it. I cannot in good faith, leave her such a responsibility knowing that she considers role-playing computer games and all-day naps to be more important than dealing with the day-to-day events of the real world. Be it right or wrong, good or bad, this is the decision I make today.

Sometimes, the decisions we make can be simple and insignificant or appear that way at the time we make them, and sometimes they might be major ones and have implications that we may or may not be aware of. If we are able to learn from these decisions, and understand the outcomes, then perhaps we will become wiser than we were the day before.

Respectfully submitted
December 11, 2018