On the Importance of Being There

If I was a giraffe, I’d be dead.

I guess it’s a good thing I’m not a giraffe.

I actually used to be scared of the protracted-neck beasts.

All because of my 8th grade gifted social studies teacher.

I was confident walking into his class that first day. I was a good student and social studies had always been pretty straight forward. I lost that confidence within the first few minutes when he explained to us that his goal was to teach us that we weren’t as smart as we thought we were.

He was tough. He was sarcastic. And sometimes he was cruel (I’m not sure the devil’s horns and tail on test days were really necessary). But he reached his goal and as a result, all of learned the value of struggle.

With some scars to show for it.

For me, one of those scars was a particular aversion towards giraffes because of this teacher’s strange resemblance with his orange – hued frizzy hair that had a tendency to approximate small horns and a long, lanky build.

And then I learned about some of the strange traits giraffes possess. Specifically the importance of a series of super-strong valves in the their neck in order to prevent a fatal stroke when they lean down to grab a drink of water from the large volume of blood found in their necks. I mean that is some crazy weird evolution going on there.

And if I was a giraffe, I’d be dead. Because the valves in legs are anything-but-strong. And over the last two days, I’ve had the offending vessels in my thighs lasered into oblivion.

The doctor (and I) insisted that I would be fine driving myself home after the procedures.

My husband insisted that he meet me for the appointments and drive me home because, “You’re my wife, I have to be there for you.”

As though it’s a given that a husband will always be there for his wife.

Being there when your spouse needs you is so important. And being there when your presence isn’t absolutely required but appreciated may even be more important.

While needles and lasers were being fed through my legs, all I could think about was how grateful I was that my husband took a break from his schedule to be there for me. And that I live in a time where medical technology can hopefully help me.

And that I wasn’t born a giraffe:)

Here’s to being there, learning through struggle and discarding irrational fears!