With so much fear and uncertainty in the world at the moment – it’s hard to remain positive to look forward to the simple things, Christmas less than 5 weeks away, my husbands 50th birthday, the end of another school year.
Facebook is filled with posts offering prayers and thoughts for the people of France, the French colours are everywhere.
I hope we will be able to see past the fear and the negativity and I pray for peace and love and health and happiness.
My gorgeous nephew left for Athens last night!! He is off to visit the other half of his family and even though we are all excited for him to be going overseas we can’t help knowing that we will miss him terribly. Christmas will not be the same without him.
We are so lucky now a days that the world has become a seemingly smaller place and communicating with loved ones all over the world is so much easier these days.
Tonight as we wait for him to make contact and let us know that he has arrived safely at his destination I can’t help feeling a twinge of sadness, it’s going to be 10 weeks before he is back home again, seems like such a long time doesn’t it?
When it rains it pours!!! How can people be expected to deal with so much heartache? At times it sure feels like some people just can’t catch a break. I am struggling to come to terms with the fact that only 3 short months ago my dear dear friend was on top of the world, had everything going for her. She had a great relationship with her soulmate and husband of 34 years, a good job that fulfilled her, her children were happy living their lives, each of them successful in their own way. She was a doting grandmother, a daughter, sister and best friend to anyone who is lucky enough to know her.
Then in some bizarre horrific twist of fate, her son is diagnosed with a brain tumour, which knocks her for a six, after the shock of that blow and the surgery that followed, it looked like he was on the mend, and life was back to being rosy when wham the second blow, her husband suffers a stroke and dies at the age of 58 leaving her alone, her world shattered, this blow came so left of centre and hit so hard.
Now three months later still struggling to come to terms with her loss and another blow, her sons tumour is returning!! The medication has made working not possible, it brings with it headaches and nausea. For a young man with two very young children this is devastating indeed. For a mother who has already been through so much, even more so.
I wish there was something I could do to help her through this trying time, but there is nothing I or anyone else can say or do to help I am afraid. I feel hopeless ! Yesterday I posted the uplifting quote “count the blessing, not the worries” what happens though when you are all out of blessings like my friend. What does she count now?
Today’s post is dedicated to my dear dear friend who is struggling to come to terms with losing her soul mate and also for everyone else out there who has lost someone they loved.
They say time heals all wounds, but I think the void that remains after a loved one passes away can never be filled. With time it becomes less painful but you never stop missing them, never stop wishing for a chance to see them again.
.
I know how lucky I am, and how lucky my children are (even if they don’t always see this). We have been blessed with a loving family that support and love us unconditionally.
Unfortunately not everyone is as lucky though. I was reminded of this yet again today as I tended to a little 9 year old girl who was feeling a little overwhelmed and scared as she waited in the waiting room of our health centre for her mother who was meeting with her drug and alcohol counsellor and a representative from Child Protection Services.
Her fear manifested itself in the form of an upset stomach, and she came over asking if I could call her mum because she was not feeling well. It was clear that she was stressing.
Mum came out of the meeting and reassured her that everything was ok, but the little girl was not convinced. As I walked mum back to the counseling room she explained to me that her daughter was worried that child protection would take her away again.
I was heartbroken for this beautiful innocent little girl who had obviously had to deal with more than anyone her age should ever have to deal with.
I hope that mum finds the courage to embark on her journey of recovery for her child’s sake. Fighting addiction is hard but if ever there was something worth fighting for then this is it.
Dexter is unwell. The call came just on 3pm today from my eldest who had just come home after spending the day with his cousin. Dexter was squealing in pain which as far as my son could tell seemed to be coming from his back legs.
When I got home around 3:40pm I found Dexter shivering on the floor beside my son. He did run up to greet me and the twins (who I’d just picked up from school), but was unable to jump up and down as he always does whenever we come home. He couldn’t even sit down properly and from my first observation I could see that his hip joint seemed rather swollen at either side. Running my hand down his back and across his hips resulted in more screams of pain.
We called the Vet and Madelyn and I drove him down to the clinic, which fortunately is only up the road. Dexter couldn’t jump into the car by himself and so I had to lift him up which of course caused him more pain which resulted in more yelping.
Without an X-ray it is hard to determine what the problem is. The Vet was able to rule out knees and feet, the problem seems to be more lower back /spine and hip. It could be a pinched nerve, it could be arthritis, it could even be nerve damage.
The Vet gave Dexter an anti inflammatory injection and a pain killer injection and has sent him home with a bag full of tablets that he will need to take for the next 10 days. At the moment he seems to be comfortable although he was not able to get up on the couch or the bed, and has chosen a warm spot on the carpet in Madelyn’s room, where she has lovingly wrapped him up in her blanket.
To some people a dog is merely a pet, an animal they have taken in for one reason or another, but for us Dexter is a member of our family, he is the happy face that greets us every day, he is a best friend, a companion, fur kid and fur brother. The boys didn’t want to come to the vet today because they couldn’t stand seeing Dexter in so much pain. Hopefully Dexter has just pulled a muscle and will be back to his crazy bouncy happy ways in no time at all.
Today is a sad day indeed, my friends husband was buried today. His funeral was a traditional Greek Orthodox one, with the service at church and the burial at the crematorium followed by light refreshments in the crematorium hall.
I don’t think there was a dry eye in the church as his son, his father and his two brother in laws carried his coffin up to the alter.
To see my beautiful strong friend so distraught was very hard today. Her children were a mess. I wished there was something I could have done, something I could have said to take their pain away, but there are no words that could do this I know.
After the church service a parade of cars followed the hearse with lights on to the crematorium.
Somehow I ended up in the wrong lane, before I knew what was happening I was side to side with the hearse I tried to let up on the gas but ended up blocking the traffic coming behind, in the end I had no choice but to overtake the hearse (this is not something one should do). The nightmare of today did not end there I entered through the wrong entry point of the cemetery and ended up driving around in circles throughout the cemetery looking for the burial site without any luck.
I ended up running out of time, as I had to pick up my kids from school, and believe it or not I ended up getting lost again and had to call mum to help navigate me back.
I don’t know that being Friday the 13th has anything to do with today’s disaster but I can’t wait for today to be over. I think I’ll pour myself a big glass of wine and just go to bed.
Life is so precious, every moment in our lives is a gift that needs to be cherished. I am reminded of this yet again as a dear friend of mine struggles to come to terms with her life being turned upside down.
My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family during these tough times. I sometimes wonder why we are given the challenges that we are. Why it always seems to be the best of us that are given the largest crosses to bear.
I don’t have any of the answers I am afraid, I can only guess that these challenges are meant to test us, to make us more resilient, there must be some greater plan out there that I seem to be missing.
And I guess it all comes down to one thing, and that is the present. We must each and everyone of us live our lives to the fullest. We must be thankful for all that we have. For all the wonderful people in our lives, for our beautiful pets, and even for our jobs, after all they are what put food on the table and help us pay the bills. There is no point worrying about tomorrow for all we know tomorrow may never arrive.
The Dog who came back from the dead
The amazing recovery of Patrick the Pitbull after he was dumped in the rubbish.
Patrick’s original owner left the dog tied up to a railing for 7 days before somebody dumped his dying body in the rubbish. When he was rescued Patrick was starving, and had been subjected to months, possibly a lifetime of horrific abuse.
After weeks of emergency measures which included a transfusion of three pints of dog blood, a special diet, medicine and physical therapy, Patrick began to gain weight and eat solid food.
Patrick has received hundreds of letters, emails, donations and gifts by those inspired by his tale of survival.
This story appeared on Pintrest yesterday, but occurred last year. How anyone could ever be so cruel is beyond me.
5 minutes more please 