Calida and Dinah Salazar

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

$0.03




Preparing to go to the VA hospital for an endoscopy on Monday, I slipped on a pair of hot pink socks with squirrels on them.  Something I was not looking forward to, I thought if I had to go through this, I was doing it with happy socks on.  When my mother was about a month into her treatment she underwent a procedure to implant a port which would allow for direct intravenous access for her medication.  This was one of the first of many procedures and time spent in hospitals.  The night before, I was giving her a pedicure.  Feeling like there was little I could do for her, this simple act made me feel like I was doing something to make her day a little better.  So when the time came to paint her toenails I suggested a bright pink shade called “All Rose Lead To Rome.”  She balked at the suggestion and initially refused, “no one will see it”, I argued.  In the end she relented and I carefully painted each nail with the electric hue.  You couldn’t help but smile at those hot pink toenails.  The next day in same day surgery the nurse came over to help mom get ready, “socks need to come off” she gently ordered.  Mom gave me a “you have got to be kidding me” look.  With a little laugh I slipped her socks off revealing her fancy feet, to which she received rave reviews!  That morning could have been somber, just another reminder of the realities of our new life, but instead it was a morning filled with laughter, smiles, and even a few compliments.  One lesson learned through that experience...it doesn’t matter what you are going through, there is a way to find humor, there are still opportunities to be happy, even in the face of something scary.  I remembered this as I was wheeled into the procedure room with my hot pink socks peeking from under the sheets, “those are happy socks”, remarked one nurse.  Yes they are!

2 comments:

  1. I love those socks! I'm a huge sock fan, and I make and buy as many as I can. In the winter, when it's gloomy and I'm at work, I love having bright, silly socks on. We dress business casual here, so secretly having on completely inappropriate socks underneath everything reminds me not to take things too seriously. I completely agree with you, there's a way to find humor in just about anything. Mum told me once, after I was healing from my worst bout of depression, that she knew I was going to be okay when my sense of humor came back.

    Thank you so much for sharing this story. You are very wise indeed!

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  2. Silly socks underneath everything says something about a person, and that something is good! Thanks for your comments :)

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