Category: Miscellaneous
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Miracles
I prayed and prayed for a miracle this Christmas. It’s been a long while since I had a new trick. Not some grand, Hallmark-type, earth shattering miracle, just a little movement or change. (Anything.) Christmas came. Memories were lovingly created. Carols festively sung. Family happily gathered. Wrapping paper carelessly torn and bagged. Yummy treats voraciously…
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I Can’t Be That Old?
It’s the truth. I turned fifty today! Where did all that time go? I feel thirty. Mr. Clock just keeps on ticking. I recollect all the good times and bad times. I wish I could’ve fast forwarded through the bad times, but I guess that how I attained my experience. All my “times” contributed to…
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What I Have Learned Two Years Post Stroke
Let me just say, a stroke is a great big momentous learning experience. One I would have gladly rather passed on, but God had different plans for me. Sometimes I wonder if I was too complacent in my sweet little life. But I am positive, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I needed to learn…
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Normal
What is normal to you? Day in, day out, running errands, shopping, commuting to work, kid’s activities, paying bills. I used to abhore normal. But now after almost 23 months in my altered state, (Yeah that’s right!) I crave the old normal. This summer has been a busy one, but not your normal summer busy.…
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Breathe
I would start with line from a song. (But I couldn’t choose from the 76 songs just entitled “Breathe!”) Holy Cow, breathing easily and without labor is not something I take for granted anymore! Those who are on oxygen can sympathize. I experienced oxygen, a ventilator, and I possessed a ‘wonderful’ trachea after the stroke.…
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Beginning Again
At this time of year, my thoughts turn to the fresh new beginnings that come with Spring and Easter. Those age old bulbs in the ground are poking their heads out of a blanket of dirt, and revealing their inner colors as new baby sprouts. How they emerge and mature is up to them. The…
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Walk It Out
I haven’t given up yet. I know I look drunk, but, no I wasn’t plastered. (Although I’ve been tempted!) Here’s a video of me walking with assistance after about 18 months! I did the entire 150 foot track, without sitting, in about five and a half minutes! I am a little more brave to lean…
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Compassion
What do you think of when you hear the word “compassion?” (I used to think, oh, poor homeless people, or oh, that sad unfortunate person, I feel ya.) There’s fake compassion exhibited in word or verbosity to only make yourself look highfaluting and pretentious, or there’s true compassion portrayed in deed, when you genuinely serve in…
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We All Deserve a Little Bling
I got a chandelier for my closet! It started out as a joke, but the more I said, “I want a closet like Barbie’s,” the more I really did want one. I found it on Amazon (duh?) for about the same price as a normal light fixture, so my husband said, “Go ahead.” (It was…
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Adaption
I used to be pretty good at calligraphy. (If I say so myself!) Handwriting has been a sore subject for me since I lost the use of my dominant hand. It was a big part of my identity. Today I gave it a shot. “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!” You’ve heard it a…
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Life Goes On
My home has been my address for about twenty days, and I thought it would be sheer bliss. But I must admit it has been a learning process and utter chaos. It feels like our home has been transformed into Grand Central Station! Various aides come in three times a day to help me. I have…
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Coming Home
The day has finally arrived. After over sixteen long months in many hospitals and care facilities, I am going home. (I asked my husband how long it had been, and told me instantly to the minute! 16 months, 10 days, 18 hours, and 37 minutes!) It is a bittersweet time in my life. So many…
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What Christmas Really Means
Right after Thanksgiving (or earlier,) we start to be actively bombarded with the capitalist message that we’ve got to start buying or we’ll be left behind somehow. The same-old wash, rinse, repeat holiday symbols get dragged through the incessant media just for the almighty dollar. How do we defend ourselves from this annual capitalist trap?…
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Angels
I have been pondering the subject of angels much since we welcomed a new angel into our midst, and we have lost an earthly angel. (Now she is literally an angel!) Well yeah, also it’s Christmastime, and angels are a popular symbol of Christmas due to the visit the shepherds received from Heavenly angels over…
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High Highs and Low Lows
December 1st will always be remembered as the ultimate rollercoster of emotions for me and my family. Our first grandchild was born. He came naturally on November 30th in the middle of the night. (My babies always wanted to come in the middle of the night!) So we hurried over the next morning, shortly after…
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Thankful for my Life
I turned the big 4-9 the other day. I don’t feel that old! It’s my last year in the forties! With a birthday, an expecting daughter (any day now, she hopes!) and a mother-in-law teetering on the edge of this world (She will be missed, it’s so unbelievably sad!) I have been thinking a lot…
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12 Truths
I saw these 12 Truths online. The author is unknown, but it led me to some serious pondering. I retyped and added an autumn background. (Hey, ’tis the season.) Every one of these rang true to me. See if you feel the same. 1. The past cannot be changed. We all have a past. (We…
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Creativity
I was asked to speak to our local Stroke & Soup support group about Creativity. Mmmm, where do I begin? I have always prided myself on being pretty creative. It’s my key personality trait. (Well, I think it is.) I was voted the female Senior Superlative in high school as Most Creative. (It was my…
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Framework
I received a big surprise when I went home to visit last weekend. My house addition was framed! (Well, almost.) It looked like the dream is real. They all kept it a big secret from me! (Which is hard for some girls!) I was amazed at what the frame made of wood can do for…
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Solar Eclipse
I eat my small Sunday breakfast with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s “Music and the Spoken Word” on TV. The narrator spoke about the solar eclipse we witnessed about a month ago during the day. He marveled at how so many people stopped their lives and gathered together to view this rare occurance. He also shared…
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