As I listened to the news tonight, I heard many things about needing to sacrifice, and making choices to sacrifice. As the deficit committee contemplates how to cut our deficit, one of them said directly when asked how we were going to do this he looked directly at the camera and said all of us need to stop expecting we can have everything and maybe get by with a little less. The consequence is depression. Then I saw a story of a middle class family, not wealthy,who have 7 of their own children, and adopted 9 additional children because they have AIDS and will die in Africa. I thought how loving and kind this was.Then it hit me what a sacrifice that family, parents and kids, had to make to provide those chidren with AIDS a loving home. I asked myself, could I do that? Could I give up some of my many comforts to take in 9 children (or even 1 child) into our home so they could live a comfortable life and get good medical treatment? Not everybody can take in 9 children, however I think most of us can make some sacrifices. How about starting with the holidays? Is there one less gift we could buy? Can we pool our money together and give to a charity instead of buying one more sweater or tie to sit in a closet?
Just take some time and think about an area in your life that maybe you could spend less to give more.Even your time and/or a loving word. My challenge to you is to make it something hard to do…. a sacrifice.
Tell me about a sacrifice you have done or are going to make.
2010
Sacrifice
Tags: generosity, giving, sacrifice
Knowing what you know now~
What is your best advice you would give the twenty-something you? I’ve always thought this a very provocative question. I think I would tell “me” to just be comfortable being myself and quit trying to be everything to everyone. Reflecting on my own 20′s is a blur of work and babysitters and maintaining a social life all while trying not to lose myself….seeing now I missed time with my kids that you just don’t get back. That leaves the next question: would I have been smart enough in my 20′s to listen to me, that is another blog!
Tags: advice, reflecting, smart
Get your orange apparel on – it’s that time of year!
Sister & Dad
I don’t mean Halloween either. Deer Hunting in northern Minnesota is in two weeks and you can already see the necks swelling on the men folk (I mean bucks). Just like every other holiday, it brings back the hunts of years past. I have been fortunate to have been born into a family where the women hunt. My grandmother, mother, sister and myself had on several occasions hunted together while I was growing up and the best part is being able to tell your stories from that day. One of my first and favorite stories is when the family went to Itasca State Park to deer hunt for the day. You get up at the crack of 4:00 a.m., have breakfast, try to find your clothes, gun, shells, clip for your gun and now you have to pack a lunch (?). When we finally get to our destination it is still very dark outside and walking in the scary woods and it is 5:30 and I’m left alone and I remember my dad saying “we will come back and get you tonight when it’s dark “(are you kidding me?). So I sit. Within a half hour I swear a moose was coming through the woods and only to find out it was a squirrel, whew! By 7:00 I ate my lunch. By 7:15 my sister is yelling at me from where she is, she ate her lunch too! Finally by 9:00 she shot at something and the hunt was on. I don’t know if she really seen anything or just wanted to get everyone back together so we could walk around, I don’t care it worked!
We have had many great years, trophy deer and wonderful feeds and not a deer hunting season comes when I don’t think of my Grandma’s liver dumplings, my mom’s “dead eye” shooting abilities and my sisters deer stand care packages. Unfortunately, my daughter doesn’t like the whole hunting experience even though she has helped track a deer or two. However, I do have a feeling our granddaughter, Lydia will have her own deer stand when she’s ready and either myself or her other grandma will be sitting along side her.
Tags: Deer Hunting, Venison
How’d we do it?
My daughter Mandi and grandsons just came for a visit over the weekend. On Saturday morning she mentioned she was going to take their dog and go for a run……30 minutes or so. Great, time alone with the grandsons! Take your time I am thinking.
Here is the account within 10 minutes after she left.
Seven year old Owen: Grandma, I have to go to the bathroom…..grabs his DS (Grandpa equivalent of the sports page) and heads in. OK. one busy. Two year old Liam is wanting his “special Grandma glass” filled with a swallow or two of water, as he is learning to drink like a big boy, all is calm and right with the world. 10 minutes later Owen emerges from the bathroom, naked. Where are your clothes? Seems they are constrictive and while going #2 he went #1 and, in his words, has a really hard bladder and couldn’t control where it went….nailed most of his clothes that were laying all over the floor. Alright, let’s get you some clean clothes….Enter: Liam with a completely empty Brita pitcher. Liam…..”I wike water mama!” Special Liam glass is sitting by the fridge, brim full and and an island in a pool of water on the kitchen floor. What just happened here and how did I lose control in 20 minutes? Wait, maybe I never had control to begin with….
I vaguely remember glancing at the clock and thinking where the hell is she?!
Bitches View from the Patient
Well, I’ve made one more hurdle and hopefully the last one for a long time. After being diagnosed with breat cancer, a double mastectomy, 16 chemos, and 28 radiation treatments, I have just completed DIEP Flap (deep inferior epigastric artery) Breast Reconstructive surgery and now going into recovery. This whole experience has given me the opportunity to meet many people, experience emotions I didn’t know even existed, and realize that ” you are your own advocate, period”.
With my many appointments, my journey found superior doctors, nurses, volunteers and everyone it takes to make hospitals tic. I would like to give my “Bitches View” on the do’s & don’ts as a patient.
Do – After being diagnosed with something, make sure you understand the complexity and familiarize yourself with it along with medications and learn the new terminology. If you don’t know, you ask.
Don’t - Assume “Googling” everything is going to give better answers and more experience than the professional help your getting. Many of the sights you come across are advertisements. As someone said to me if it has .org or .edu, it is worth looking at.
Do - Journal everything, appointments, symptoms and just plain “how you feel”.
Don’t - Assume there is a magic jeannie out there keeping track of everything for you.
Do – Let your family, friends & medical care know exactly how your feeling.
Don’t - Keep everything inside because your tough. If you don’t feel up to things, let people know. Being strong means being smart.
Obviously, this is my opinion and I could go on and on, but I would like to finish my do’s and don’ts with -
Do – Realize that the person helping you is human, they are someone’s mom/dad, sister/brother, wife/husband and they more than likely got up very early, had to feed the family, get dressed, arrange appts, do quick household chores, travel and on many occasions they are doing everything on very little rest just to care for you and you are not the only patient.
Don’t – Take your caregivers for granted. I am truely amazed at the skill level and the compassion that I have received and even though there have been a few anxious moments, they seem very trivial when looking at the whole picture. Thank you goes a long way.
So THANK YOU, Innovis, Meritcare, Midsota and St. Cloud Hospital and all the people that have helped me, in addition to my great family, special nurse (mom) & friends!
My experience has been captured best by a card that my very good friend Arlette had just given me and I thought I’d share. It is a true gift to have a friend that knows how you feel and didn’t ask. Health & Happiness to all!
Tags: DIEP Flap, Innovis, Meritcare, Midsota, St. Cloud Hospital
Terri Hatcher’s character
on Seinfeld has nothing on Lou…
THEY ARE SPECTACULAR!
And you can’t wipe the grin off of her face~~
Tags: seinfeld, spectacular, Terri Hatcher
cha cha cha cha changes….
Tomorrow is a big day for fellow-bitch Lou. I asked her if it was alright that I shared with you all on this blog. She is scheduled for reconstructive surgery in the morning. I couldn’t be happier for her opportunity of getting to be made whole again. Not an easy decision, her options were more limited than most double mastectomies due to what she had to endure the past 18 months. But, she does well with adversity, so this was just another step in her life. I had lunch with her today and I cannot help but marvel at her perseverance. The obstacles have been many, some days I don’t know how she managed to maintain, but the light is there now, right at the end of the tunnel. I wish her peace of mind tonight and to rest assure in her decision. Oh and I wish her awesome sculptured breasts~ and complete WHOLENESS.
Click here for information on DIEP reconstructive surgery.
Family Tradition
Told you it was football season! And in my family that means Notre Dame football and all the traditions that go with it. My brother Terry and his son Ryan had the pleasure of going to the opener against Purdue last Saturday. If you have never experienced a college football game, I encourage you to…..if you want the ultimate experience, seeping in tradition then you must see the campus of Notre Dame game day. I had the pleasure in 2002 with hubby and son Gus, I will never forget it. I knew it was going to be exciting but had no idea the range of emotions until you see the amazing buildings on campus, the cathedral and of course Touchdown Jesus. I think the smiles on the faces below tell my family story well! GO IRISH!!
Tags: football, irish, notre dame, tradtitions
Seasons of change~
Autumn is upon us. The signal came loud and clear in two ways, the wind and college football on TV. I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year, love all the new smells in the forest and canning salsa, cool breezes for sleeping but it always brings a certain sadness with it as well. A season change. And this year one that came with the price of having to say good bye to a dear man. Bill Bishop was a hard working, hard playing farmer. These are the things you need to know about him, he had a sparkle in his baby blue eyes, he always had a warm hug, he had a lovable grunt and above all you always knew where you stood with him. I like that about a person. No room for shades of gray, that way you are never guessing. I will miss you my friend and I will think of you when I hear the dice cup shaking. The world got just a bit dimmer last week. Thank you for the inspiring legacy you left behind, your spirit lives on…….
To quote from Jan’s book, Old Dogs are the best dogs: The meaning of life is that it ends. *grunt*
Tags: farmer, hard worker, legacy, season
