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A life lesson learned from a friend
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7/14/2008
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This morning at the pool I heard some devastating news. One of the ladies I swim with lost EVERYTHING she owns in a devastating wildfire this past Thursday. My friend and her family, along with the rest of the neighborhood in which she lived, received orders to evacuate at 5 pm. They had to flee quickly; she only had time to grab her wallet with her ID and a couple of keepsake ceramic angels. Within the hour the fire moved in and consumed EVERYTHING, the house and all its contents, 3 outbuildings, and all their vehicles except the one they drove to evacuate. The only thing that remains of the life she once knew is a chicken coop with 4 hens and a few rows of corn. YET she was at the pool this morning, and after a group hug and numerous expressions of sympathy for her loss, Peggy was the one who declared we were there to workout, so we needed to break it up and get to work! She could have wallowed; and if is such thing as a good excuse for not working out I'd certainly say this qualifies. She had to buy a new swimming suit and gym bag; hers was lost in the fire. She didn't even recognize the new suit as hers and almost left it in the locker room when she went to leave. Yet she intuitively knew that despite the physical and emotional upheaval she's experiencing at the moment, working out is a positive, a way of working through some of the stress and one of the few familiar parts of her life that remains. Rebuilding her life isn't going to be easy. But when she walked into the gym this morning, just a few days after this horrible tragedy, it's clear that she's already started down that path. The fire may have claimed her possessions, but it didn't break her. Her strength and determination remain unscathed.
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