I love to look at my calendar and see names of friends and family in the little daily boxes. That means hearing what is happening in their lives, sharing the day-to-day, or the happenings of the past several months. Everyone is so busy, that it isn’t unusual to not know the trips taken or planned, new members of the family, events taking place, even of those close to us. However, I have noticed a new phenomenon taking place, and I have named it the Organ Recital! It starts with the obligatory hugs and kisses (thank goodness, we are a hugging and kissing society once again) and moves to extolling praise on how wonderful it is to see each other, and yes, how wonderful we look to each other.

Then, after the wait person has taken the order, (well, that’s for another blog post!) it begins…on cue, the status reports of our bodies. Granted, based on the amount of people at the table, we must become mindful of how long each of us has for our organ recital. If there are four for dinner, it may be until the first course arrives that one has the floor (or seat,) but if there are more of us, it is necessary to shorten each person’s health report.

We are, through each other, learning about parts of our bodies we didn’t know we had, let alone what can go wrong with those heretofore, unknowns. We hear the names of doctors…either the BEST or the WORST that exist, and how to go about making an appointment, because, of course, now that we know about the vulnerability of said body part, we will need to look into it for our own bodies. We hear about subsequent Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, which actually has little to do with an occupation, and Speech Therapy, which again, may be more about swallowing issues than speech. By the time the dinner arrives, we need to talk about something else…but is there anything else, one may ask?

Rather than feel daunted by the reality of the age and stage in which we are living, I choose to feel filled with gratitude that we are living! Considering the alternative, well, there is no alternative we wish to consider. We need to have that attitude of gratitude and appreciate where we are, and the fact we can share our challenges.

When I speak with or visit an ostomate, I stress how strong and tough they are, since the very act of survival is enormous. Add the ability to reach out and ask for support, or just to discuss their adjustment is key to living their best life. I encourage participation in either our Support Group or another because there, the commonality is precious.

Let’s continue to have our organ recitals for years to come. Knowing others are there to listen and show concern is a beautiful thing. Finish with a good laugh about how different is the topic from dirty diapers and first teeth, and know that what connects us is what we have in common at every stage of life.

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