Yes or No?

Each Thursday morning a short story from my third book, "Lemons Into Margaritas" is offered as encouragement for this COVID-crazy time in which we live. These stories were written more than a decade ago but the underlying message still applies today. Life rarely goes as planned, right? Anybody's life gone exactly the way you planned? Hell no. Life is a roller coaster with plenty of unexpected and daunting twists and turns. "Yes or No" is an inspiring tale of a father's gratefulness and the lesson we can learn from it. Enjoy:

One evening, while relaxing and watching television, I saw a wonderful example of staying rooted in the possibilities and not the problems. 

I was stretched out on the couch watching the show Extreme Home Makeover. This particular episode centered on the Martirez family of St. Louis.

Emmanuel and Dawn, high school sweethearts who had been married nine years, had three children: preschool twin boys with developmental challenges and a darling older daughter who gives her younger brothers tons of love and support. 

One of the boys, Evan, has compound challenges. He needs a walker to get around and his communication abilities are limited. The design of their house presented problems for the youngster. Because of outside steps Evan had to be carried into the house. Then, once inside, mobility was drastically restricted because he had to maneuver around a stairwell to gain access to other first-floor rooms.

Along came the wonderful people from the show and thousands of community volunteers. They tore down the old house and created a new home for the Martirez’s with many beneficial features: a gently sloping ramp to the front door, elimination of corners and tight turns and an elevator. Evan now has the run of the house!

I’ll never forget Emmanuel speaking of the family’s new home. With tears streaming down his cheek, he said, “The old house always said no to Evan. But this new house says nothing but yes.”

I sat watching with tears in my eyes. Emmanuel Martirez is the brother of my first wife. Uncle to my son. I hadn’t talked with him in years, yet his messaged really resonated deeply within and challenged me to look at life and ask if it says yes or no. 

Now I’m encouraging you to do the same thing. Take a look at your life in these COVID-challenged times —relationships, attitude, and lifestyle in general—and ask if they say yes or no?

When presenting a Pep Talk to audiences as the Comeback Coach this ol’ jock encourages others to courageously eliminate any self-destructive behaviors from our lives: What are we putting into our bodies? Our minds? Who are we hanging out with? Are they lifting us up or dragging us down? 

Does everything about you exclaim yes or no? 

Today, tomorrow, and into the future, despite obstacles and adversities, let’s make our lives a collective and unmistakable yes! Trust me—we’ll all be better for the effort.