Gratitude

Perhaps best known as a historical town of the Revolutionary era and home to Bunker Hill monument, marking the site of one of the first major battles between the Americans and British, Charlestown is also home of Spaulding’s flagship facility since it opened in 2013. The foundation for recovery Spaulding gave me for a new life after sustaining a TBI in 2006 has been truly amazing. Maybe it was the leftover joy from the Sox victory, the night at Fenway with people who mean a lot to me, the beauty of the morning, or more likely, the combination that had me filled with joy! I’m not the most sentimental person, so being overwhelmed with gratitude without the pull of guilt that often strikes was a beautiful feeling.

Playing golf, at least improving ones’ game, is really pretty similar to the process of recovering from a brain injury, or for that matter, an individual’s self-improvement journey throughout a lifetime. For one thing, they’re both never-ending processes without finite endpoints where perfection is achieved, or even distinct completeness.

After learning of Jim’s accident, Kathy and Jim reconnected. In 2013, Jim started speaking to some of Kathy’s classes where she now taught in Westborough High School in Westborough, MA. Now in 2021, Jim and Kathy decided to share their reflections on their journey from starting out as student and teacher to becoming colleagues and friends.

As I sit here typing 15 years to the day after my car crash, the fact that I’m typing a new blog post leaves me full of gratitude, let alone that I can sit up on my own in a chair. Just the possibility that sharing my experience along this TBI recovery journey can help someone in their own life, or provide even a positive thought, gives me joy!

One such thing that I heard people say a lot was that, “the older I get, the smarter my Dad gets.”

And on that note, I return to the way I rectify the seeming contradiction that is my Spiritual view on the universe:  Why God, an entity representing pure love, created a world where difficult, often painful, the “bitter” if you will, things even occur? Herein lies the majesty of God’s work!