In the far past—really poorly. Hubby loves to regale friends and family with stories of when I used to faint at the sight of blood.    My own as well as others.

Non-blood emergencies I did not handle much better. Getting lost?  Total panic. Unfamiliar technology?  Total confusion. Conflict and shouting? Total shutdown. Or the reverse of Flight and I went into full knight in armor Fight mode.

By midlife—fair to middling. After years of therapy, 12 step programs, metaphysical training and personal growth workshops I was better prepared and more emotionally mature.   Fight or flight turned into stand and  face. Less yelling and crying and more calm detachment and intellectualizing.

More recently—pretty well!  I have been able to add Trust, Compassion, Calmness and Clarity to my set of emergency handling skills. Those skills were hard won from years of dealing with family dramas and traumas. As well as talk therapy with Bestest Friend and other trusted loved ones. They allowed me to vent my fears and anger so I could approach my life’s emergencies from a neutral point of reference. I gained perspective and positive experience that grew with each new event.

Yes, there was still occasional panic, confusion, tears, and anger. Yet it seemed I spent  less time drowning in those paralyzing reactions and spent more time and effort proactively responding to the emergency.

All of this was tested yesterday—which is why this blog is a bit late. Cousin from Iowa came to town to visit my Mom and after a first great day we were headed to Mom’s memory care facility when Cousin tripped. I heard the unbelievably loud “thunk” and saw her face crash onto the concrete curb then smash in the driveway. She did not get her hands out to break her fall.

A surprising calmness centered me and I kept her quiet as help arrived. The blood had no affect on me and I felt no panic and total confidence all would be well. No tears—from either of us. She also stayed calm and with help from kind strangers and the medical staff I got her back in my car and to an Urgent Care. Many hours later, after a CT scan and trip to the hospital ER, we returned to my home. She has a fractured bone under her eye which she will check out with her ENT specialist and was released by the doc to fly back home today.

Riding home I said, “You have a whole army of angels watching out and caring for you.”  She agreed. I thought about how the last two days we had spent talking about our faith. In God. In people. In our family and our country.

Faith is a powerful force. I truly believed it filled us and we were carried though this emergency on a wave of Love and Grace. I felt her parents watching over her, surrounding her with their love.

I also felt our Grandma with us. She was a strong, no nonsense woman with a deep commitment to doing good. Sometimes her intensity was a bit scary but we knew she loved us. She was particularly close to my Cousin and Aunt.  I always thought of the three of them as an unbreakable family unit welded together by love. We called her Purple Grandma because she loved to wear purple clothes. But her name was Grace.

Faith and Grace and Love.
Bring them with you wherever you go.
Best way to handle any emergency.