Category: Uncategorized

Cancer has touched so many people that I know.  It knows no bounds and does not discriminate based on, race, religion, sex or age.  It touches the lives of children, men and woman.  It has affected friends as well as strangers.  No one is immune…. no one.

I have had friends men and woman that have been affected by breast cancer.  Yes men can get this horrible disease.  Many friends are currently recovering from treatments and some are still undergoing them.

The latest victim of this horrible disease is someone that lives in South Africa.  We have never met but have much in common.  Though we live thousands of miles from each other we were married on the exact same day and she has three sons and I have two.  They are roughly the same ages and probably would get along quite nicely.  We found each other through our blogs many many years ago and became Facebook friends as well.  We have followe each journeys and watched our children grow.  Recently, through Facebook, I found out that she is undergoing treatment for breast cancer.  Weeks passed and found out her mom was also traveling this same horrific journey with her.  I am glad they have each other to lean on and support each other.  One of my first thoughts was of her dad.  He was not only watching his beloved child go through this but his lifetime wife endure the same.  From what I can gather is Melanie has incredible support among her friends and family.  

If this disease has taught me anything is the more I learn the more I realize I don’t know.  It affect different people differently and no two are the same regardless of the stage or type of cancer.  There is no way for one to know how another feels unless they too have been through the treatment and recovery.  Even then stories and experiences are apt to be different.  

This disease along with many others affects not only the individual but everyone around that cares and loves them.  It creates financial and emotional hardship.  I only hope that the next year bring strives towards a cure for this horrible disease.

WIth every passing year we begin to reflect on the passing year and thoughts and hopes of the upcoming year.  2017 was not the best year for many and tested their strength, resilience and friendships.   An individuals true colors come to light when put under stressful situations.  

I was once told by one of my husband cousins that I would only always be a girlfriend.  I remember this quite vividly like it was yesterday yet it was over 20 years ago.  I have decided, along with many others, that family does not always consist of blood relatives.  We have seen this by how some relatives have treated others.  

I have had friends suffer the loss of parents, grandparents, friends, siblings and children.  Friends have rallied around to show their support in every way possible.  There is nothing anyone can say that will ever eliminate the pain but hopefully the support will help ease it enough to help them get through to the next day.  I have also had other friend endure life altering experiences.

This past year has been one of many troublesome events for many..  I am continually surprised and amazed concerning the support of friends.  It truly makes an incredible difference when recovering or coping with a difficult event or task.  I am also truly disappointed with the lack of same from individuals that you thought were your friends,  Again their true colors and judge mental attitude come to light.  Tired of putting myself out there for friends only to be disappointed.  The people that you can count on regardless of what is going on…. those are my people.  They know who they are.  Life throws curves balls at us constantly.  I have seen many handle with grace and dignity.  You have shown the rest of us how strong you truly are without knowing it and shown by example how to handle adversity.

Sometimes it feels like it happened during another time period.  Twelve years ago I was sitting at work not unlike any other typical September day when a co-worker John that sat diagonally across from me said a plane just hit one of the World Trade Centers. 

Vocies in the office whispered another plane hit the other tower, a plane went down in Pennsylvania, and a plane intended for the White house has hit the Pentagon.  It did not take long before these acts would be dubbed as acts of terrorism.  But we were on American soil how could this be? It was the furthest from my mind but quickly became reality.  We all tuned into CNN on our internet access at work to find out the latest as we were under attack.  We were all sent home early that day to go and hug our loved ones and allow others to locate friends and family members that may be directly impacted.

I was about seven weeks pregnant with Walker at the time.  Our lives as a family were just beginning and what kind of world was I bringing a child into?  Sadly I was so sure anymore.  In the office we were all stunned and speechless.  We were a generation that had not endured an attack on American soil to this magnitude.  My supervisor at the time was in the Army Reserves and quickly exited the building to report for duty.  It wasn’t until months after he would be deployed.

The next few hours passed slowly while everyday people were being named heroes for helping many escape the horrors of the day.  Firefighters, police and civilians came together for one cause.  There were calls made to loved ones saying they would be home as soon as they could and they would never arrive.  There were also stories of people that were running late to work that day and managed to avoid the tragic events.