Dogs

Dogs never cease to fascinate.

Libby and Mercy, our current fur babies

"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog."

- Edward Hoagland

Cancer and My Daughter

Malignant, malevolent, invasive: cancer

It has happened again, and to my daughter.  And it is breast cancer.  And how will she choose to deal with it during the normal course of Stages of Grief ?

• Denial (this isn't happening to me!)
  
• Anger (why is this happening to me?)
  
• Bargaining (I promise I'll be a better person if...)
  
• Depression (I don't care anymore)
  
• Acceptance (I'm ready for whatever comes)

She could be stuck and stay angry and depressed.  But knowing her, she will not.

Allow me to give you a background for Julie.  This is a picture of my daughter and me in her first week of  life, along with a little social history:

(the rest of the story can be read at More Magazine by clicking on this link)

Daughter Julie has been dealing with this latest diagnosis of an advanced breast cancer for about a month.  She has a myriad of medical complications to go along with this recent diagnosis.  But she has taken on this current medical problem with her usual courage and a complete lack of self pity.

So when I dare to complain, I remind myself to look to my exceptional daughter and her life.  How can one not marvel at her successes and her positive outlook?  And how could I think of ranting my despair from petty disillusionments or physical pains? 

God unceasingly reminds me of Julie, my role model for serene acceptance of what life throws at her.  I am blessed because she blesses.

There are things that we don't
want to happen but have to accept,
things we don't want to know but have to learn,
and people we can't live without but have to let go.
~ Author Unknown

Mother's Day

"Making a decision to have a child-it's momentous.

It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around

outside your body."

~Elizabeth Stone

Elizabeth Stone's quote was found on Susan's blog this morning.

Today, I want to say an even bigger "thank you" to my own children, for they have made me grow, stretch, be aware of my glaring and not so evident faults, and have taught me gratitude and a modicum of forbearance.  Thank you for being my children, Julie and Heidy.

“It is not until you become a mother that your judgment slowly turns to compassion and understanding.”

 Erma Bombeck

Mother's Day is the Big Day to say "thank you" to the mothers of the world. But there are others who also lay blame when "things go wrong" with children...

Thoughts on Mother's Day from The Citizen:

While fathers, teachers, religious leaders, and numerous other elders in the society deserve acknowledgment for their roles in the nurturing of children, it is a mother’s role that is extraordinary. Mothers are naturally the primary caregivers for young children.

It is a mother who teaches how to nurture and how to love. It is through her guidance that we as individuals learn how to be empathetic and sympathetic to those around us.Today mothers have lots of routine work, and responsibilities. They are normally always busy fulfilling their children’s needs, in such a way that they forget to care for their own.

However, there is a tendency to put blame on mothers when things go wrong with children. This isn’t a new aspect. Everyday we hear how mothers are to blame when children fail to live up to our expectations.