Pain and Pleasure

Yesterday was a cooler day and I decided to turn off the air conditioning and open the doors. I was sitting in the craft room at the computer doing my paper work and heard the front door shut. My youngest Goddaughter, who has been staying some days during the week with me, had shut the door.

 I asked her "why did you shut the door?"
She replied "because it is dark. Do you want someone to come in and get you?"
I laughed and told her "Amber, someone could come in during the daylight just as well"
Amber said "but when it's dark you don't see them and they could get you and hurt you"
Still quite amused I told her "If it's my time it's my time"
Amber still not sure about the door being open after dark said "But it doesn't have to hurt".
I smiled at Amber and said "sweetie I will die however God sees fit. If he sees fit that I die a painful death then so be it. I can just be glad that I had enough feeling of pleasure in my life that I am able to recognize the pain".
Amber just sighed and walked off probably thinking her dear Godmother had lost her senses.

I got to thinking about this conversation afterward and realized how true it is...that if we don't experience pleasure we can't recognize pain and if we don't experience pain we can't truly appreciate the feelings of pleasure. While this is sometimes lost on our youth I think we start to realize this as we get older and it can give us a new appreciation for those difficult times in our lives, whether the pain be physical or emotional. I am thankful that I can truly say I have been able to experience sheer pleasure in my life time and that does make the painful experiences more easier to bear because I know that pain doesn't last, or it doesn't have to last.

Oh and on a side note, about 10 minutes after mine and Amber's conversation I was standing in the door of the craftroom and a shadowy figure was on the porch and a split second later a chainsaw revved up. I just looked out the door and said "You don't scare me". It was my neighbor who had been out trimming some limbs and had planned on giving me a fright and was quite disappointed with my lack of reaction! Luckily Amber was in the bedroom and didn't see this happen or she would have likely had a slight heart attack right there and then! LOL