The Oppenheimer Report - 5/4/15

 

We are back and forth to Toronto and scrambling to figure out what we do next with respect to Shauna’s mom. Presently, she is in a rehabilitation facility and making some progress after a misstep on the stairs in her home led to a bad fall and fractures to her C1 and C2 vertebrae. At present the challenge is to make her understand the severity of the injury and to convince her that she will, for a while at least, require assistance with almost every aspect of her life. We will know more after a follow up consult with the neurosurgeon who originally saw her after the fall, but the uncertainty is all consuming.  

 

Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans. I have been thinking of that concept a lot lately, and it has been particularly meaningful this past two weeks. When I was a young man I had aspirations to be a writer, and perhaps if I was lucky, a recognized songwriter. I had those aspirations 45 years ago. I finished school, and afterwards, having been instilled with a strong sense of responsibility by my parents, I took a job in the family business, got heavily involved in the community, and put those dreams on the back burner. Like so many of the rest of you, I chose pragmatism over pie in the sky, and I have few regrets. I still managed to write songs, even if few heard them, and I have lately enjoyed some of the recognition for which I’d always hoped. I’m not done by any means, but I have learned to be patient. Every experience in my life has made my writing improve. For now, it is likely I will need to pull back and focus on the family I have left.

 

One can live life with regret and bitterness, and no matter what one’s station in life those demons are ever present. Alternatively, one can simply persevere and find happiness and contentment in the absence of sorrow. My life has by most people’s standards been a charmed one. I have known great love and support from friends, and most of all from my parents, and from Shauna’s. We are down to our last parent now, and this journey looks as if it will be a challenging one from now on. The circle of life encompasses us all and no one escapes the pain. It is up to us as individuals to recognize the joy. Herein I recognize every friend and relative who has brought a smile to my face and to let you know I love you all. When you have helped me you have helped me help others, and I will continue to pay forward the good fortune I have so far known. I don’t know about the future, but for now, family trumps all else.  

 

Enough of my philosophical bullshit. I hope to join you again next week, here, and on my radio show, which last week Hunter’s Bay Radio was kind enough to air for me with the benefit of remote file sharing. Life can kick you square in the ass, but if you’re at peace with yourself, and I think I am finally, it cannot knock you down.

 

Whatever doesn’t kill ya, right?

 

-Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2015 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED