Mother’s Day
I have been keenly aware of the great fortune of my brother and me, having been born to the parents we shared. Our mother and father blessed us with joyous love and nurturing to last our entire lives. For this, we are so very thankful! When I got married, my parents-in-law were the absolute salt of the earth and loved me like their flesh & blood daughter. I truly felt like I had two sets of loving parents. When we had our own two daughters, my life became so complete, so full of wonder and, again, I realized how fortunate I was. It is truly the greatest honor and privilege to have the opportunity to be a mother. While my daughters were young, I was fortunate to be able to stay at home with them before they started school, fully investing in their development and growth and in my marriage. Raising children is the most awesome job in this world and it not only contributes to them and their development but, I believe, it contributes to the welfare of our world as well. There is a little piece of my heart that is always sad on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day when I ponder the awareness that not all who would like to have had children, could. I also am aware of friends and associates who are estranged from their parents or children and I wish so much that each year as these special days that so many celebrate arrive, those who are not celebrating might just decide to attempt to bridge that gap and give relationships another try. Single people living in a society that is seems focused on couples find it lonely at times and I know that those without children or estranged from loved ones have expressed that same experience at times. Sadly, for some families alienated time may be running out sooner than later due to age or illness. So this weekend as my family and I celebrate Mother’s Day sprinkled across the country (thank you, Facetime and Skype!!), I hope all families can focus on the possible joy and, perhaps, reach out to seek it once more…in...
Read MoreThe Value of Family and Love
My brother and I were born to two wonderful, loving, fun and supportive parents. We were the only children and we have always been close, which is a blessing in both our lives. We were raised in the church and had a good family life. Our parents instilled in us appreciation and respect for all people. They taught us about kindness and compassion. My brother has always been a genuine, caring man and NEVER meets a stranger. Our father passed away from a sudden heart attack when he was 61 years old. Heart disease was heavy in his family background and he did well making it to age 61. Our grandfather and two of our uncles all died from sudden heart attacks in their early 40s. Our mother passed away from a stroke when she was 78. We miss them both so much. But we’re glad we have each other and our own families. My brother was so supportive of me throughout my breast cancer journey. He was there for all my surgeries, took me to most of my chemotherapy appointments and called and visited me frequently. Since I was divorced and my two grown daughters lived out of state, I lived alone. But, I NEVER FELT ALONE…EVER! By directing our local United Way since 1984, I had a public life where I worked with many, many amazing volunteers, staff and agency representatives. Working on community problems and issues draws you close together and truly caring for one another naturally evolves. I’ve always felt that I was surrounded by many “chosen” family. During the months of surgeries and chemo treatment, my church family, and my natural & chosen families all reached out to me and walked every step of the path right with me. I was and still am so very blessed. I share this in my blog so that I can explain something so strong and powerful that God’s Holy Spirit put on my heart during these months and now years. This lesson was simple but so powerful to me that it became very important in my thoughts, prayers and actions. I got hundreds of phone calls and cards and letters from people telling me they were praying for me. Many of them shared that their church or Sunday School class was praying for me regularly…sometimes, people I didn’t even know. Every time I heard or read this, I felt bathed in love and encouragement…by God and the people. Then, it became overwhelming. My surgeon even said to me one day, “You must know everyone in Iredell County because I can’t go anywhere without having people ask about you.” We laughed about that. I said it’s just because this is my hometown. But the truth is this…I had so much love and caring. It overwhelmed me in a way that I realized I needed to focus on people that were going through the same or similar thing as I was and some of them had no one to support them like I did. It became quite important to me that I reach out to everyone with whom I came in contact and see them as a person I needed to share God’s love with. Even having worked my adult life in a charitable problem-solving career, this new awareness was mind-blowing for me. I was really, really sick during the chemo months and this “gift of awareness” that God gave me meant so much to me. I saw it as another reason to fight like crazy to recover and get to work. So I began to share this message...
Read MoreStrange Exhibits At San Antonio Zoo
My two daughters and I saw some pretty cool wildlife at the San Antonio Zoo. I was surprised to walk into the Gift Shop fairly near the entrance to see these three on exhibit. Parts of them looked almost human and they each had slightly different voices and each of them had VERY LOUD LAUGHTER SOUNDING NOISES. Whatever they were, they were enjoyable to be around.
Read MoreSan Antonio Riverwalk Fun
My daughters and I celebrated their birthdays in San Antonio, TX last August. Cooler weather would have been better, but we persevered and had a great time anyway. The Riverwalk area is almost magical, especially in the evenings. We loved the gondola rides, people watching and the food and drink was nothing to sneeze at either. Ever since my breast cancer diagnosis in 1999, I have intentionally been building memories to enjoy and leave behind…whenever THAT might be. We stayed in one of the hotels right on the Riverwalk so we just walked out the hotel lobby and the fun began. Only moved my car once to go to the zoo which is really...
Read MoreWhat's Your Passion?
National Audubon Society
Help support the efforts of our National Audubon Society in conservation of natural bird habitats. Visit: www.birds.audubon.org