Bendy Straws

This was the view from my hospital bed last week for Meningitis. I woke up from a short sleep to find that the nurse had brought me some water with styrofoam cups and my white bendy straws.

Those in my family know that with all the stays I've had in the hospital I try to find the smallest things that make me happy, although sometimes very odd; one being the hospital straws. They're white, bendy and are wrapped in white paper.

I'll drink anything out of them while I'm there, there's just something comforting about them. Call me crazy. The thing is, I can't find them anywhere outside of the hospital, so before I left on Friday I took the remaining four straws to enjoy while recovering at home. I still have a couple left at home now, and I'm actually saving them for a "special occasion." I imagine myself waking up in the middle of the night, not being able to sleep and popping one of them into a glass of cool water to splash back while watching the early news, waiting for the sleep to come again.

Hopefully no one has to spend as much time in a hospital bed as I have these past five years, but a lesson to be learned could be to try to take a horrible situation and pick out the small, seemingly minuscule things to take advantage of and look forward to. When I was still working I looked forward to that first cup of tea or coffee in my favorite mug, preparing it then taking the first couple sips while having a friendly conversation with my friend before starting the day.

People always say that "there's someone out there worse off," and although that may be true, just know that person is finding little victories throughout the day. Whether it be writing a blog post, making a cup of tea, listening to that one song that lifts them up or even, yes, unwrapping a little white bendy straw.

There are more victories out there that defeats. Find them and take full advantage of them while you can.