Learning to say YES!

Learning to say “Yes.”

Learning to say “YES” has been the toughest part of my lisfranc recovery journey.  The surgery was scary and the recovery has been long and painful.  But being so dependent on others has been the biggest lesson I have had to learn.  Like most women, I am much better at taking care of other people than I am at letting people take care of me.  My first innate response when someone asks if they can bring dinner, or pick up some groceries, or come over to keep me company is “no.”  I feel unworthy, and really hate asking people to go out of their way for me or having people do something just for me.

Today marks 4 weeks into the non weight bearing portion of my lisfranc recovery and I have had to force myself to learn to say, “yes, that would be nice.”  Or, “here is what I really need.”  Because guess what?  It is true that I have needs that I cannot take care of on my own.  And I really have needed tons of help.

I think it comes down to this:  When you say “no” to someone offering to help, you take away their opportunity to feel pleasure at being able to fill a need.  I think back to a time recently when I found the perfect gift for a friend of mine.  I knew it would mean a lot to him and couldn’t wait for him to open my present.  And when he did, the smile on his face and heartfelt “thank you” gave me more joy than I can express.  I often think back to that moment of giving and what a blessing it was that he received my gift with such pure delight.

During my lisfranc  recovery, I have learned to accept offers of help.  These offers are not just countless  blessings that have enriched my journey, but have also provided the opportunity for the giver to feel  joy that they were were there for me during my time of greatest need.