Some years back, my husband became very ill with an initially unknown ailment. He was almost completely incapacitated, in pain, and we weren’t even sure if he would live. Everything seemed out of control and spiraling downward. Even though I visited him daily in the hospital, and later in rehab during his six-month absence from home during treatment and recuperation, we got into a routine to stay further connected. He would call me every morning at 6:00am and then again at 8:00pm. We ended each call with one of us saying, “See you later, alligator” and the other responding, “In a while, crocodile.” It became a moment of childlike lightness, routine, and predictability in a time when everything else seemed frightening and uncertain in our lives.
Whatever is going on in your life, even in the bleakest of times, look for small ways to illuminate the darkness and remind yourself that light always exists if you let it in.
