"It might have been otherwise" is a line from a poem that reminds me how important it is to appreciate the ordinary. What a miracle it is that we are able to walk and talk and think, much less see and hear. When Jane Kenyon wrote those words she doubtless felt their truth. She died of leukemia shortly after writing “Otherwise.” She was 47.

The idea that our time is limited can cause us to look at the world differently. Even songs on the radio encourage us to live as though we were dying.

A few years ago I was diagnosed with an ovarian tumor. When I left on an icy January morning for surgery I looked back at my living room and realized that the next time I saw it I would either be celebrating a new lease on life or preparing for the end of my life.

It's not that we don't all know our time is limited, but we can push it aside until we are forced to face it. I was forced. People ask how it changed my perception of the world. In all honesty, I've always had a sense that time is limited. I'm not sure why, but maybe it’s because I was born so late in my parents' lives.

I was very fortunate. Although one doctor had told me, "The radiology looks bad. It looks very bad," I got the news that people pray for three weeks later. On a Tuesday evening a surgeon delivered the most beautiful word, "benign," during a brief phone call. I'm sure he had said it thousands of times. It was the only time I've heard it in relation to me, and few things have ever brought such relief.

The ordinary may be a goodnight ritual, a stop at the neighborhood coffee shop or a favorite pen in hand. These are simple things, but they are the moments that make up a life. Few things are more precious than time with a loved one, and yet as the play "Our Town" reminds us, we don't even take time to look at each other.

I'm challenging you this month to really look at someone. Really see them. And appreciate some ordinary life because as the poem says, "But one day, I know, it will be otherwise."

As summer approaches, you’ll no doubt have chances to gather with family and friends. My coleslaw like grandma made is a great accompaniment to any meal and requires no actual cooking.

Click below for Patsy's cOLESLAW RECIPE.

March 21, 2017

Coleslaw like Grandma's