MY MOM

I have not seen my mother since last week - have not had a chance to drive to Broward County to see her.  Will be seeing her on Mother's Day.  My brother and my nephew went to see her yesterday and sent me this video

She is WALKING!!!  My mother has not been able to walk in over a year and a half.  I know this seems like nothing... but if you had seen her before the surgery you would understand.  I can not BELIEVE it!

Over the past year and a half she had been getting increasingly worse and worse.  She could not walk.  She could not sit up - she would fall to the side.  Her affect was awful, her memory was awful.... We started to think she was developing Alzhiemers (my grandmother had it). And ALL these things were caused by an accumulation of water in the brain!  The human body is just amazing isn't it????

And you know who figured it out?  Or at least sent the doctors in the right direction??  My AUNT.  My mother's sister.  She met someone who was talking about her sister having all the same symptoms my mother had and how the shunt in the brain had changed her life.  My aunt spoke to my mother's doctor and the rest, as they say, is history.  Isn't it scary that not one doctor out of all the ones we took her to even THOUGHT about this possibility?  I don't know about you... but it scares the hell out of ME.

BRAVE GIRLS CLUB

I belong to a yahoo group called Soul Journaling.  The moderator posts these letters from the Brave Girls Club regularly.  I really liked today's letter and thought I would post it.

"Dear Authentic Girl,

Your heart will mend, it will. It always always will, no matter how many
times it has been broken. Sometimes our hearts have to be broken to be made
into something newer, stronger, and wiser. Sometimes the cracks that a
broken heart makes and leaves are the very portals to the greatest light and
love and learning that we will ever experience.

Having our hearts broken is a part of life. It just is. Anyone who lives and
loves with all of their heart, or even with parts of their heart, is
destined to experience the breaking of that heart at one time or another.

Be with those feelings. Don't rush the healing time. Let it go at its own
pace and certainly don't shove those feelings into some faux hiding place,
believing that what is out of sight is out of mind.

Broken hearts have a lot to say, and the more patient you are to listen, the
faster your heart will heal. Listen to what your broken heart is saying
about how it wants life to be in the future.

Be patient and gentle with yourself. No rushing. Rushing a broken heart is a
bit unkind and impatient. You don't want to treat yourself that way!

You are so loved. You are so wise and wonderful and amazing.

You are healing right now.

xoxo "

-Brave Girls Club

The Road He's Chosen is Not an Easy One

He is using again.  He's been on a four day binge which he is now sleeping off.  He probably lost his job.

All I can do is sit here and pray.  Hold on to my faith and my family and friends.

I just wish I could understand.  I wish I had insight into addiction; insight into the hold that drugs, alcohol, ANY addiction has on people that drags them back over and over again.

"This too shall pass"... that's what they say and I know it to be true.  But the road that we travel is so very hard.

Great Background Technique

Came across this video of a fantastic background technique.  I found her blog which has a prompt for each day starting January 1.  Her name is Tee and I think she is pretty damned cool!

Jen's Marie Journal

I am the last one to work in Jen's (Jennifer Rogers-Daniels) Marie Journal.  Every page in this journal is just amazing!  I can not WAIT until Jen sees it!

Obviously Marie Antoinette involves a lot of silk, lace, bling... very girly girly.  Unfortunately, that is not my style at all.  And although I really did intend to do a frilly page, I really couldn't! This is my contribution to Jen's Marie Journal:

Beautiful!

I came across this during a blog hop.  No idea where I got it from but I think it's beautiful.  It is amazing how William has all his mother's expressions, her smile...  They had forecast strong rain and winds for the wedding day.  Yet the sun shone on the royal couple.  I truly believe in my heart of hearts that Diana made sure her first born had sunshine on his wedding day.  I know that she is happy to know that this child that she loved so very much married a woman he truly loves.

MY MOM WALKED TODAY!!

WOO HOO!! She is not ready to run a 5K but she got out of bed and was able to walk holding my brother's hand!  That is an amazing change from even yesterday!

The surgery appears to be working!