Wednesday ANTI-*****fest

My Tai Chi instructor told me about "walking the labyrinth," and I did it for the first time in June.  There's a local labyrinth group that meets on the first Saturday of each month, so I invited my instructor to go with me last weekend.  It's a very calming, meditative activity which I find beneficial and healing.

The leader of the group has different topics each month.  This month was "Remembrance," which involved taking a yellow rose (supplied by the meeting organizer) from the entrance of the labyrinth and leaving it at the center.  The exercise was to focus your attention on someone who has impacted your life.  They can be either alive or dead.  

I thought about my mother who had passed away 33 years ago.  At first I became emotional thinking about how long it's been, but then I thought about how proud she would have been about the changes I've made in my life and how I'm a survivor in many different ways.  I found peace and some level of serenity.  I also thought about other people in my life who have passed away, and how much of an impact they had on who I am today.  Although those we love may not longer be here, they still exist in our memories and minds.

One of my objectives at this point in life is to find ways to calm my mind.  Religion isn't an option for me, but small, contemplative moments like this seem to reap large rewards for me.

We thought the 4th would be a bust here, it'd been raining all day.  As darkness approached, my DD and her friend convinced me that we should at least drive out to see if maybe the fireworks would be done anyway.  We parked in our usual spot to wait, and when the time came, I saw the clouds lighting up in the reds/greens/oranges, but didn't see the fireworks.  So, we decided to drive on and see if we could see them from the road.  We found an awesome spot, and for the first time ever, I saw fireworks exploding in the clouds.  They were so beautiful!  Some of them went too high and you couldn't see much, but the sky lit up so wonderfully.  Others were lower and they just looked so different with clouds as a backdrop.  We had a great time watching from the side of the road in the car!

I had a terribly sad day but I have to give a shout out to a wonderful organization.

This morning at 3:30 am my 15 year old Chihuahua woke me up crying and I knew it was time.  It was hard to see her suffer and I didn't want to make her wait until morning.

There is a 24 hour vet hospital in town and I called them concerned about the cost and found out about the Velvet Assistance Fund.  Because of them I was able to help my Tazzie to the other side without worrying about finances.

The people at the DoveLewis were so wonderful, caring and sensitive.  I can't thank them enough.  The treated us with such kindness and compassion and gave Tazzie the dignified end that she deserved.  I can never thank them enough.

They helped me through a difficult situation and eased Tazzie to her final breath with all the love they had.  They understood my fears and helped me be at peace with my final decision.

While I hope no one ever has to make such a terrible decision I hope that if you do you are lucky enough to have people like these to guide you through it.

And to add to an already difficult day I wound up at the ER afraid I had another bowel obstruction.  I was in so much pain and again the staff was so helpful and nice.  I have never been treated so good at an emergency room and it really helped after the day I had.  They got me in and comfortable and after the CT scan confirmed that it wasn't another obstruction they were happy with me that I didn't need another hospital stay.

To all you people out there who are dedicated to helping people and animals through all the pain and stress of sickness I thank you for your kindness.  You will never know what a difference that kindness makes in a painful situation, to help ease the physical and emotional pain of your patients.

I am so glad in the midst of the sadness there were people around you being kind and compassionate. So hard.

I'm so sorry. We have 4 chihuahuas two of them are 14 and 13.

I hope you are feeling better soon

I took yesterday off!!! We had Monday and Tuesday for 4th off this year.

Things lately I'm grateful for:

1) on the 4th I did rock climbing and bungee jump at the town- it was the first time I've ever gotten to do this. I now have bruises but I don't care.

2) had a great 4th celebration with neighbors at our house

3) went to ikea tuesday! I had a minor issue around the cinnamon buns that my group was eating in front of me but didn't cause a scene- lol

4) did housework/organizing yesterday- so much accomplished!

5) I'm 3 pounds away from being 'not overweight'

6) seems my ulcer has resolved!

Wow, that's a great list for partying! Super jealous that you got to go to IKEA, the nearest one to my house is almost 2 hours away and my husband absolutely hates going, so I don't get to go often :(

My drive-in has The Secret Life of Pets showing this weekend! We love going to our drive-in and when it has movies we want to see we get super excited and this is one I've been looking forward to so YAY!

The good report doesn't necessarily involve me but I had a friend that I lost contact w/ for a while email me and tell me that hes CLEAN! and hes been clean for over 2 yrs now! THANK GOD!

Wonderful news!!