A 4th of July Salute... A little late but heartfelt

My Friend Michelle emailed me the link to this great video and I wanted to share it.

As a proud daughter of a retired Air Force man and friend to many other military men and women, thank you for your service and dedication to freedom...

(Who ever thought KISS would have something like this out there?)

"Mom, I Need You"

I have a dear friend H. She and I have been through thick and thin and then some over the last 10+ years together. We talk on the telephone quite regularly. Now, H has a little girl, Flower, who is about 3 1/2. Flower has always done things on her own timeframe and is not afraid of expressing her needs vocally.

As an infant.... well she was a little high-maintenance. She didn't walk until she was almost 2, although for no physical reason... I am convinced that she just didn't feel like it yet.

Now, she is very verbal. And she has no problem just walking up to her mom and saying,

"Mom, I need you."

Sometimes it's a snack or a nose-wipe or a movie or her little brother is being a pest...

sometimes it's just because...

Just because at that particular moment life seems to big for her to handle on her own and she just needs her mom....

Climb up on the lap. Get a hug. Suddenly everything is OK again. And life goes on.

This is my mom. Isn't she cute for an old chick?!

Now, I think I got a rather false sense of security when Chemo Round 2 wasn't too bad.

Round 3, however, knocked me down pretty good.

No puking involved, but a good deal of nausea and exhaustion beyond newborn-baby stage.

Treatment was on Monday. By Thursday, I was a mess. I had slept 12 hours, gotten up and taken a shower, and hit the wall. I didn't even get my older kids driven to school. I was standing in my bathroom, crying over my pathetic-ness, when I heard Flower's little voice in my head and just knew I needed my mom.

Suddenly I was 3 years old again, and I knew that if I could just have my mom, somehow I could get through the day and things would be ok again.

So I called my mom. She didn't have any plans that day.

She asked what was up... and I lost it... I just cried. I told her that nothing was up. I was just tired and I didn't feel good and I needed a mom.

She said, "I can do that. I'll be there shortly." No questions, just OK.

So she came up (she's about 45 minutes from me) and got my kids to school... 2 hours late, but oh well..... let me cry and then just spent the day being my mom. She did my dishes... we made some muffins... she mostly made them really... got some laundry folded... and she stayed til my hubby got home... cuz then he could take care of me.

You know....One of the hardest lessons for me to learn through all this has been that it's ok to not be ok. Most of the time I am pretty positive and upbeat.

But I need to give myself permission to occasionally be a mess...

even for no other reason than that I'm tired of being tired...

And it doesn't matter how old you are,

sometimes you just need your mom.

Thanks, Mom. You're Awesome!

I woke up to a much better day.

The Squeaky Wheel Really Does Get The Grease

I'm learning this, and learning it quick. Especially as it applies to my medical situation.

My surgeon does not want to order further testing for me (squeak, squeak). She wants me to see the oncologist and have HIM do it... if he so chooses.

But... since I am "anxious" about this (squeak, squeak), they got me an appointment with the oncologist this week instead of waiting until next week.

So my waiting will have a little relief in that capacity at least.

I see the oncologist on Thursday morning.

Squeak. Squeak.

Thanks For Today - The Power of the Pooch

Maybe my Thanks For Today should be something quite profound on the day before the actual Thanksgiving holiday, but today I am thankful for my dog. I considered myself more of a "Cat Person" until about 7 years ago, when I had a couple cats that really liked to urinate on my furniture. Having to get rid of my living room couches was a pretty quick "Cat-Person CURE."

My husband let me pick out a beagle puppy for a wedding gift. And even though my puppy Zeke has been a real pain in the hiney many times, he has still converted me into a definite "Dog Person." Zeke kind of annoys my sister, so it was especially funny when she sent me this video. It's kind of cute and cheesy, but also.... profound... and illustrates why I am such a sap for my dog.



Some people would argue that cats are like this too, but cats are very prone to PMS-y kinds of random crabbiness. Dogs just love.

Thanks for Today - Lifetime Friends

My thanks for today is for my good friend H. She inspires me in so many ways in the (mostly) graceful ways she lives her life. She loves deeply. She knows how to laugh. Given her childhood experiences, these two things alone are nothing short of miraculous. I wish she gave herself a little more credit.

She is a thoughtful giver; when she gives you a gift, you know it was picked with very specific thought for you and your needs/wants/loves... not just to fill an obligation. She always remembers my birthday, even though I always seem to forget hers. She sends me Mother's Day cards.

She is my "2 am" person... you know...

the person you can ALWAYS call, even at 2 am.

She appreciates the finer points of warm brownies and ice cream.

We can talk every day or once a month and it's still like coming home.

So my love, as I visit you today with excessively chocolate cake in tow (Happy Birthday, a little late as usual), I hope you know how much I love you and how awe-struck I am by you.

Thanks for Today - Laughter (a.k.a. All Rocks Go To Heaven)

I love to laugh. Our women's retreat last month actually had a Certified Laughter Leader. I had no idea what this was until I went, but her job is to get people to loosen up and laugh. You basically do all these quite stupid things and force yourself to laugh, until pretty soon you are laughing so hard at ... well you really have no idea why you are laughing, but you can't stop.

For instance, turn to your neighbor, shake their hand, and greet them in Hawaiian.

"A- LOH- Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Or the "Roller Coaster Laugh."

Totally ridiculous. And you feel totally stupid, until you realize that everyone else is acting as mental as you and then you just relax and laugh... and laugh... and laugh...

{ I'm so glad I had the forethought to pee before it started. }

Laughter has healing power, for body and soul. I am so thankful for this gift, for a God who loves me enough to want me to have joy and laughter.

So here's your laugh for the day....
(A friend sent this to me. Thanks, T!)

Do Dogs go to Heaven?

Absolutely unreal that this actually happened!

These two churches face each other across a busy street.

Thanks For Today- Gratitude in Hardship

Blogging is an interesting beast to me.

I primarily started doing this on the prompting of my dear friend H.

But there are perks.

I didn't grow up close to my extended family, but thanks to dedicated grandparents on my mom's side we always felt part of the family. Well, time passes. I was one of the older grandkids, and as I got married and had kids, traveling cross country became nigh unto an impossible financial challenge and my younger cousins have gone and grown up without my permission. I remember them being preschoolers and now most of them are married and many have preschoolers of their own. Most of my girl-cousins blog, as well as most of my boy-cousins' wives. So now I am getting to know my extended, extended family... and it is very cool.

My cousin Justin has a lovely wife (I think we've met once...?) who posted the following tidbit. Now I know some of my readers are not LDS (my whole family is) but I thought this was an excellent message regardless of denomonational preference.

Thanks for Today.

Today I am thankful that I can have peace and joy through Christ, even and especially when it seems like the hard times in my life will not let me up for air.

{And thanks Echo for sharing this in the first place}

Thanks for Today - A Great Big Cyber-Hug for All You Fellow Blogger-Moms

I don't know if anyone else reads random blogs of people they don't know, but I do. I start at someone I know, then look at their sidebar, see a post title that looks interesting, and before I know it I am reading about the crazy life of a complete stranger. One such blog gave me the idea to practice some November gratitude, blogger-style. So every day (that I have time/ remember) I'm going to blog some gratitude.

Today I am thankful for all my fellow mom-bloggers. It's amazing to me when I read about those I know and love, and the complete strangers, how similar many of our struggles are and yet how unique and gifted each of these special women are.

I was reading a Christian fiction series recently called "The Sister Circle." It was about women: how we are made to be compassionate nurturers, how God loves each of us, has a plan for each of us, and how intertwined our paths really are.

So Thank You, women of the blogging world. Thank you for sharing your joys and sorrows, triumphs and tragedies, and little windows into your worlds. You have surely enriched mine.