Happiness in the Most Unexpected Places: The Secret to Transcending Tragedy
How I’ve found joy despite dad’s cancer, emergency surgery, and a whole slew of other misfortunes
“I begin to suspect that the world is divided not only into the happy and the unhappy, but into those who like happiness and those who, odd as it seems, really don’t.”
— C.S. Lewis
The leaves had turned a golden hue the day my dad told me had cancer. I stared at the yellows and reds of different trees while idling at a stoplight. Across the street, a new brewery had opened, and I wondered whether I should stop in for a pint. The light turned green, and I drove through the intersection instead.
Not a few weeks earlier, my mom had a “myocardial infraction” (read: minor heart attack) around the same time our air conditioning went out, costly us a cool $2,000. Once I pulled into the driveway of my home, I remarked to no one is particular, “Well… probably can’t get any worse.”
Famous last words.
Within the week, I’d be rushed to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. Post surgery, work became difficult, and when you’re self-employed, making ends meet can be hard without paid time off. Because of the pain medication, I’d randomly fall asleep at odd times…
