Ramblin'

Surgery for my Uncle and Brother went very well - both are recovering quite well...for this i am thankful.

Thanksgiving was, as usual, the best of days- a time with family and good food and much laughter and just being together - i do love Thanksgiving.  So much to be Thankful for - so very much.

This past Saturday a friend of mine - only 31 yrs old - passed away due to complications of heart and liver problems.   Due to a condition when she was born, surgery at five years old, and then problems with the liver not handling the heart meds she was on her entire life, cut this beautfiul one's life short by human standards.  We are all grieving....and yet, am thankful for the years she was given.

In all things, give Thanks.

Second surgery on my mind

Next week, my brother will be having surgery.  i wish everyone could know my brother...well all of them (i have four) actually...but i'm focusing on Bryan tonight.  Bryan is 15 years old and is built like a linebacker. He is strong and funny and knows sports inside and out.  Bryan's dream is to play football and has a pretty accurate throwing arm but he would love to be a running back.  That will probably never happen this side of Heaven because he has CP.  A horrid happens-at-birth disability that makes his muscles be in a constant state of tension...causing pain and a walk that is difficult. 

i could go on and on about what a trooper he is and how he's a great kid (all true) but that's not my point.  He'll be having surgery next week to insert a hockey puck like device that will deliver medication directly to his spinal cord that will, if all goes well (please God!) help his pain level and also relax his muscles so that he can stand straighter and walk with a bit more ease.

He is nervous.  This is not his first CP related surgery.  It will not be his last.   Working with the spinal cord can always bring about complications but we are hoping for the very best.

i truly wish all could meet him.  He's an amazing kid.

If you think of him next week, would you mind saying a little prayer?

Thank you.

Before it's too late

Tomorrow morning one of my Uncles will be having surgery.  By-pass surgery.  Perhaps double, perhaps triple - Doctor isn't quite sure.  Of course anytime that one goes 'under the knife' death is always an option, isn't it?  However, this Uncle has been in relatively good health and his heart isn't damaged because of the blockages - so that is a plus.

Something that makes this more difficult is that he has been estranged from our family for close to 8 yrs.  It's a long story and one better left in history - but it's been a long road back to fellowship and forgiveness and there are still some bad feelings between family members.  However, i think, for the good, that most are trying to put it behind and focus on the here and now - which is - surgery tomorrow morning.

What if?  What if he doesn't make it?  Or what if he has a stroke or...or...or..?  See the bad possibilities are endless and though it's never, ever pleasant to think or talk about such things, in this case, it's brought to the forefront of my mind because of the past eight years.

So tonight i'm doing a little soul searching.  i know, with a clear conscience, that the last time i saw him (about one year ago), i was kind and cordial and able to look him in the eye and didn't harbor any hard feelings.  That is truth.  i also know that from his part, he has attempted to restore relationships (of sorts) with his children and grandchildren - and that he made some effort is something.  i also know that if he weren't to make it (though i hope everything goes really splendid tomorrow) that i WOULD be sad at his passing and would be genuine in my grief.  So though i've not expressed this all tohim, and truly don't feel that i need to, i know that i can pray for him with a clean heart and mind and know that i'm not harboring any resentment nor dislike.

Sometimes these kinds of things sneak up on you and relationships get out of hand or never become repaired and then something awful happens and it's too late to resolve something that should've been done years ago.  We all go through it - it's part of human nature.  However, this was another wake-up call to keep my grudge list realllllly short and to make amends when possible and if not possible, to at least forgive and move on.  Bitterness and anger and hatred benefits no one, in the end.

Life lessons are sometimes learned in times of struggle and tragedy or even in emergency, thankfully this life lesson was learned for me before it was too late.

May God be with you tomorow, Uncle and guide the surgeon's hands.  i am praying for you.

 

Update:  He made it through the surgery and hopefully will have a good time of recovery.

These are a few of my favourite things...

If Thursday is my favourite day of the week and October is my favourite month of the year, then what is my favourite colour?

Still a girlie girl

ok..so i know i spend a fair amount of time talking about American-style football on this journal - but truly, i love the sport.  i love the pace and intensity of the game.  i, of course, am an ardent Eagles fan, even while they are not doing so well this season and have particular players of whom i cannot get enough.  i understand the game, thanks to my Father who played in high school, college and semi-pro.  i've been watching since i was a baby...it's in my blood.  i get loud and mean when they do poorly and will scream myself hoarse with joy when they do well.  i watch YouTube clips of Brian Dawkins and my tummy feels all funny - like i've just had my first kiss and i find it hard to breathe because my heart is pounding SO hard.  Had i been a boy, i would've played - hard, all out, with everything i have.

That being said - (which is so funny that i'm writing this while wearing 4" stilettos!) i am such a girlie girl.  i love pretty. i love lace.  i am SO fortunate to own scads and scads of my great grandmother Irish Linens...and handmade things and i dress in skirts and dresses and fuss with my hair and wear makeup and high heels. i love stockings and silk and hot bubble baths.  i love babies and how they smell right after a bath.  i cry easily and have a tender heart and a soul that longs to be loved.  i swoon at good music and strong Men.  i love to cook and bake and read and garden and travel and be pampered and so very girlie.

But man!  i do love football!

 

::grin::

A To-Do List

Things to do while sick:

1.  Watch every movie in the house

2. Beg movies from the neighbors

3. Give yourself a manicure

4. Cough

5. Dream of a hot bath but realize that you don't have the strength to clean the tub.

6. Read

7. Sleep

8. Cough

9. Try to do some needle work

10. moan and complain about the aches and pains.

11. Cough

 

If you try that fantastic schedule, you will be sure to be feeling better in no time.

Now, please excuse me, i need to cough.

Les Miserables

i really like this quote:

"...Such is a random, superficial picture of the year 1817,now largely forgotten.  History discards nearly all these odds and ends and cannot do otherwise;  the larger scene absorbs them.  Nevertheless such details, which are wrongly called trifling  - there are no trifles in the human story, no trifling leaves on the tree- are not without value.  It is the lineaments of the years which form the countenace of the century."

Everyone's story, their very life counts.  Sometimes we allow the drudge of life to weigh us down and to make us think that we are nothing, not worthy, of no value  - but no, that is not so.  Every moment of our life counts for something.

A good reminder to live each moment well.