Having a nasty disease like Parkinson's is no picnic, and I don't make light of anyone's pain, including my own. But letting your mind dwell on the pain and throwing pity parties for yourself just makes it harder to cope. Life is what it is. Michael J. Fox has said: “Everybody gets a bag of hammers to deal with.” I don't quite get the bag of hammers analogy, but I understand the sentiment. Here are a few of my own parables:
You've heard the saying: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” I say:
When life gives you lemons, make lemon meringue pie.
Actually, I've only made lemon meringue pie from scratch once. Who in their right mind would go to all that trouble when the culinary wimp mix costs less than the ingredients to make it from scratch. By the way, I still haven't found the aisle at Safeway where they keep the scratch.
If your job pays peanuts, make peanut butter. It's a good source of protein to keep you going until you can afford steak.
If life throws you scraps, make quilts. Thread is cheap.
When life dumps a pile of crap in your backyard, spread it over the garden and grow some flowers.
