I realized that as I was navigating the waters of the medical world, the working world, the youth sports world and the friends and family world….relationships were the veins of life. Think about it. You have to cohabitate with your coworkers many hours a day and make things work. Businesses have to run smoothly and depend on a certain amount of trust among employees that can work together to produce a quality product to sell at market. In my instance, excellent relationships between my employees and myself were the key to a successful collaboration and successful business. I strive for that. This cohesive crew, happy crew, would translate to happy clientele and fabulous business. Therefore…excellent relationships with our customers. Our relationships continue to flow happily and generously through our wholesale vendors. So important these relationships were. To bring the finest, prettiest pieces of jewelry to market, our vendors were key. Their input and various styles of jewelry and fine diamonds and gemstones were the cornerstone of my business. I dealt with many to always have a spectacular array of fine jewelry for our customers to choose from. Relationships.
Relationships with young children when teaching them skills in sports like soccer, baseball and ice hockey, especially from a young age, are so fulfilling. Watching these young athletes complete different skill levels and increase their skills week by week is especially exciting to the coach…me! Their faces smiling ear to ear , scoring goals, navigating the bases or the blue line. Fabulous! Relationships with the athletes parents. Tentative to say the least. Expecting so much of their children, and their coaches to get them there. Sometimes an impossible feat but every child got the same treatment and somewhat more attention if needed. Teaching manners, ethics and sportsmanship was paramount to the whole package. And fun. The most important aspect of your job. Work hard, play hard, have fun! Relationships with the parents were always good, bad or ugly. I always tried to keep it good.
The most satisfying relationships that I had were with the huge array of talented and compassionate medical staff who saved my life. The relationship that you have and grow with for a very long time. The doctors, the nurses, the phlebotomists, the techs, the custodial staff, the surgeons, the specialists, the kitchen staff and the administration. They have the responsibility to make you feel safe and secure, alleviate your many anxieties, take care of you pre and post surgery and counsel you when you are just feeling like hell. Kudos to them.
The most important relationship you actually have is the one gets you through it all. The one that is there for you when things get bad, get scary, get emotional and get better. The people that show you how much you are loved. That show you that anything can be beaten down…Cancer specifically. Yes…love conquers all. My wife, my boys, my parents, my siblings and friends. My Rocks. Relationships.
The relationship that I had with myself was special too. The battle was still raging. The counts were still all out of whack. The fatigue was debilitating. The relationship with myself…tiring. Mentally exhausting. With all of the relationships that I had going on in my life though? They all had my back. A village of hope and a desire of all..to help me succeed.
What more could a guy ask for!
Relationships….I had the best.
Next Up: The Next Phase- Remission