Saying Thank You to All of YOU!

Thankfulness     
Acknowledgement
Recognition
Appreciative
Gratitude
Honor
Indebtedness

     These are just a scattering of terms that I owe to all of you. 

     Four years is a long time to recover.   Four years is a long time for your continued support, but you have never given up on me, which in turn, causes me to not give up on myself.   We have been granted a gift of  86,400 seconds in a day, it only takes the use of one of those seconds to say, "Thank You" but I am going to use quite a few more than that today.

Silent gratitude is not much use to anyone, so

THANK YOU!!!

      It amazes me that the effects of this collision have spread so far.  Society may not know my name, but I hear, " Ohhhh, you're the one, " quite often.  I receive hugs from citizens that I do not know because they said a prayer for my family and I in church.  The same goes for cards, texts and private messages.  They start by explaining who they are and that they have a friend who knows us personally and felt compelled to write us.   Then............there is you.   Still receiving random, "how are you doing?" messages or cards.   I receive the best hugs when I venture into town.   Smiles are everywhere and if one of those smiles are a little droopy, then I hug you and you have no choice but to hug me back, because that would just be bad manners.  

     I rarely shake hands anymore unless the occasion truly calls for it, I encompass my acquaintance in my skinny, woman arms and hope they feel every bit of indebtedness that I have.   I have so much to give and give back.  

     I cannot recall if I have communicated this story to you or not, but this moment calls for it.     

     When I roused in my room after one of the surgeries, I'm not sure if it was my personality, God or something called Dilaudid, but I awoke in a great mood.  As long as I received my medicine routinely I was in moderate pain, light-hearted and didn't think much about my situation.  While I was holding my Mom's hand after a surgery I vividly recall a divine sense of prayer.  I spoke genuinely to her, " Mom, I can feel everyone praying for me, I can feel it.  That's why I feel so good."  I can only think of one way to explain this titillation.  When you watch how fans 'people surf' at a rock concert, there are many hands supporting that person as they travel along the crowd.  This is how I felt about everyone who was praying for us.  You were carrying me with prayer at a time when I could not carry myself.  It's an inspiration that I could never forget.

     When I speak of "you", I speak of everyone.  My family, friends, acquaintances and unique strangers that took time to help me, even in thought.  My family put their lives on hold until I could function on my own.  Our children practiced patience, nurturing and bred independence in their new roles, while my mind, body and spirit were reclaimed.  There were times when my own light diminished and was rekindled by a spark sent by one of you, whether you knew this or not.  I will never be afraid of saying a prayer or sending a message to someone because of awkwardness.  It was at the oddest junctures that a short note from someone revitalized my ambition to survive and live, like I wanted to live.  

     It is said that, "if you were not grateful for what you had before, that you could never be grateful for what you are to get."   I believe this to be true.  I do not wish this experience on anyone, it is painful in so many ways.  I am grateful to live thirty-five years as I did, but I am grateful to live any way I can now.  This is a promise to you, that I will pay it forward til the end of my life here on this earth.

If there was a way that I could touch you, to transfer my emotion of appreciation,  so you could feel what is in my heart, you could have endless peace just from that smallest gesture.   

 Gratitude has, undeniably, been my best attitude.

    

      

The Value of Sisterhood

     The value of sisterhood is something to be treasured for a life time.  Not all of us understand having that, but we can come close with friends that feel like sisters.  Having three daughters, there are times I envy their hushed talks, their secret smiles and overall sister camaraderie.  Having one sibling who is male, the only hushed talks we had, were episodes of him begging me not to tell our parents "something" he had done, so he wouldn't get into trouble.  ;)

     This photo shoot I am sharing has been evolving in my thoughts for a couple of years.  Because of many surgeries I have not been able to tackle this passion of mine, until Now!  Since we camp at the fairgrounds we had access to the carnival rides from our county fair and I thought this the perfect background to portray our three beauties.  

     If you have not noticed, the 50's fashion is back in style, with a contemporary spin of course.  Finding the right kind of outfits wasn't too much of a challenge.

   Studying our three daughters, I pronounced they were at the right age to help me with this endeavor.  Luckily all three readily agreed to trust my imagination.  

     When our girls filed out of the camper one by one, I had that moment the rest of you, who have watched them grow up had.  "When did all THAT happen?"  My heavens, they are stunning!  When were the little girls replaced with these remarkable young women?  I am even more stoked for this photo shoot, they are 100% all into this.  Hair, makeup and clothing.  Sweeeet!


     Photo after photo, my chest puffs with pride as I can see things differently through the lens of a camera.  Photo after photo, the lump in my throat swells as I see we only have a few years left before they leave.  Photo after photo, I hide the fresh tears of appreciation I have for these dazzling, intelligent, young ladies. 

   They were rocking this session and I was enjoying it as much as they were.  They are veteran models as I have put a camera in their face for many years.  I only had to tweak poses as they did the rest.

   I couldn't help but laugh at memories of younger years as I studied them.  They don't care about the sibling hierarchy anymore, they just want to borrow each others clothes.  There is still an occasional, "She made me do it" or "Sissy did it" or better yet, " I am the oldest, so I am the boss!"

       Our family combined nine years ago.  They didn't have a choice of whether they wanted to become sisters, but now I can hear them say, "I smile because you're my sister and there is nothing you can do about it."  

      They have grown to love and protect each other.  Confide secrets and ambitions.  We have raised them together and even though they are flowers from different gardens, they have bloomed together and developed a sisterhood that is powerful.   This is an affection worth treasuring.

How lucky are they?