Category Archives: Gratitude

Cancer’s wiggety-wackness, gratefulness…and prayer (yes, this post will make sense)

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, PGFD firefighter Jesse McCullough, his wife and one of his daughters at a Sunday afternoon fundraiser to help defray costs of McCullough’s cancer treatment. Gov. Hogan heard about the event and stopped by to offer emotional support. Hogan also fought cancer for about a year and a half. His diagnosis came just several months after his inauguration in 2015.

(At the Water’s Edge, Maryland) — Grateful. I’m deeply grateful that folks allow me into their time and spaces to ask questions and be nosey in both good and extremely difficult times.

Some folks I cover for work really resonate my heart strings. From Brandi Garrett at The Maddy Wagon whose daughter, Madison, is a childhood cancer survivor…to Roya Giordano and family who lost their teen son/brother Mathias to bone cancer. 

Earlier today for work, I got to cover a fundraiser for a firefighter who is battling colon cancer. It has spread…He says the chemo seems to be holding it at bay right now, but he told me it isn’t curable so he’s essentially buying more time to be able to spend with his wife and watch his daughters grow some more…He’s looking into clinical trials in the D.C. area and in Boston, but isn’t eligible for any of those until all other treatment options are exhausted.

So….Since my blog is a personal project, and because it’s no secret I want everyone to be happy and healed, I have requests:

  • If you are a praying person, pray.
  • If you only put positive thoughts & speech into the universe, do that.
  • If you do none of the above, just hope for the best so Prince George’s County firefighter Jesse McCullough gets better. 
  • If you know a phalanx of prayer warrior grannies or aunties who always smell of peppermints and/or wear white gloves to their houses of worship even in the summer heat…ask.them.to.pray.  Not just any grannies or aunties. The ones who call everyone either “sweetie,” “dear heart,” or “baby”…(pronounced BEHHH-buh) or some other variation.  That encompasses a wide variety of grannies/aunties of different backgrounds with only the sweetest levels of sweetness.

Big G upstairs be listening to them, for real. 

 #McCulloughStrong

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Podcast Episode 2: Cancer has no couth or sense of timing

Cancer is rude. It doesn’t ask anyone if they want its company, won’t ask you “Hey, can I come on over to your place and hang out for awhile?”

Nope. That would be polite.  (As if you would tell it yes if it did ask–I know I sure wouldn’t.) Cancer just raps on your door, taps on your window pane, and then walks or climbs right into your life. Loud and ill-timed. Of course, there never is a good moment for cancer to come on by. Ever. It just shows up, sits on your couch, puts its muddy shoes on your ottoman,  eats up all the food, hides the TV remote and then doesn’t even bother to help clean up.

If cancer were polite, it wouldn’t be cancer.  It wouldn’t strike fear and apprehension into the hearts and minds of those who must confront it and those who hope it never comes their way.

For Brandi Garrett and her husband, this battle was a family affair. They and their children embarked on this journey when one of their daughters, Madison, received an unwanted diagnosis.  Maddy was three years old when they learned she had cancer… Stage IV.

Listen as Brandi recounts  Madison’s journey:

Thanks for listening to Episode 2: Cancer has no couth or sense of timing.  Here are a couple-more notes to keep in mind:

The Maddy Wagon is active year round.  Visit the website to learn more about the organization started in Madison’s name, and to obtain more information about their yearly gift giveaway –Christmas Maddy Wagons of H.O.P.E., which stands for Happiness, Optimism, Peace and Excitement.

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Gratitude day 7 (These days are not in a row. I gave that up long-time ago)

So when you attempt to start a good habit, don’t be like me one year ago. Follow-through with it. I tried this gratitude experiment I read about last year. The point was simple. Find at least one thing to be grateful for each day. While driving around today, I swear I saw a sign that asked “How many things can you find to be grateful for in the next ___ miles?” I don’t remember where I saw it, or how many miles I had to think up things I’m grateful for. I can tell you, I didn’t list my memory, because I promptly forgot.

But not before I forgot to be grateful for a job, Since I was driving about as part of my job.

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Day 6: Days off! Yes, Lord!

Who isn’t’ thankful for these?  They are a gift from the workhorse gods.

Working in the news business can be exhilarating!

But there are some days I want to bury myself in the stupidest TV shows or movies to ditch reality–even for a few  hours.  Some days life’s happenings are extremely disheartening.  By workweek’s end, I’m ready to turn off, tune out and drop away from all news reports.  I try to use my vacations to catch up with loved ones,  unplug from all news, read inspirational books and catch up on my fave reality-suspending television shows.

I am also thankful for weekends and days off so I can connect with friends.  I also  take care of the mundane… like running run through my laundry list of errands and chores—which always includes, well, loads of laundry.

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Day 5: Light-blocking curtains deserve a day of observance

When I moved into my place, blinds were all I had shielding my eyes from the outside light of day or streetlights of night.  They kept the glare off, but mercy me!  Slumber was jacked up every night!   These half-baked sleeping patterns continued for many months, and included  snoozing during daylight hours.  I actually thought I was sleeping well–at the time.

Then a Wonderful Soul bought me light-blocking curtains and offered to install them.  Awesome sauce!

Glorious was that first night of sleep without the glow of streetlamps worming in between the blind slats!

Then I slept during the day.  That, too, was glorious!

As the India.Arie song says–“It’s the little things… and the joy they bring.”

[*Insert “church hands” or “jazz hands”*] Hallelujah for the small things!  I declare today a personal day of thanks for light-blocking curtains!

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Day 3: Grateful to learn

I’m grateful for the ability to learn new things.

Not everyone can. Time and disease can erode this ability. Neither asks for permission.

Sometimes willingness wanes, which is also tragic. In my humble opinion, as long as you’re willing to learn something new, you’ll never be washed up. Who knows if someone said this before, but I’m saying it today.

Can’t help but think about how refreshing it was to read about the retirement plans of a Los Angeles-area judge.

Lance Ito was thrust into the national spotlight during the O.J. Simpson murder trial in the 1990s. When Ito retired, it was reported his plans didn’t include much outside of learning to play guitar. Other than that, who knows what he’ll do during his retirement years. Who cares? He plans to learn and grow. And even if guitar learnin’ is all he does, that’s a-plenty.

My guess is skills like that take years to master—and practice to maintain. There’s no shortage of songs to learn, either. So guitar learning, learning different styles of play, and song learning will take up plenty of time.

I’m thankful for the ability to learn new things. Yes, people can become experts or masters, but I also think [IMHO] it’s healthy to maintain a sense of wonder and to remember education is an ongoing process—no matter how much a person thinks he or she knows. There’s always something else out there to learn. If you can learn, do learn.

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Day 2: Pleasure in a warm blanket

I’m grateful for warm blankets on cool fall days. It’s a plus if that blanket is fresh from the dryer. What a comforting sensation to have while self-swaddling in covers on crisp days or nights. The feelings of warmth, security, exhilaration, relaxation, joy, and cozy thankfulness are most welcome. It’s so beautiful to keep re-discovering such a simple pleasure still has the same effect as it did when I was a child. As an adult who is determined not to grow crotchety, such reminders are appreciated-always.

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Day 1: I’m grateful for decent health.

It seems life is a collection of great memories, friendships and lessons. It’s also a collection of ailments and pills as people march toward death. Yes, time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping… nudging away my youth while hoary strands keep pushing through more hair follicles. Even while thinking about what I would change about my life if I could re-live the past 10 years, I’m still so grateful to have decent health. Even with prescriptions and supplement orders through the years, I’m grateful for decent health. I walk. I talk. I laugh. I love. I live. And I appreciate it all.

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Today: A good day to start a new habit

It takes 21 days to cement a habit, so I’m deciding to try a new one: The habit of gratefulness.

Every day someone gets shot, stabbed, raped, killed or hurt in some other way. Some perverted cad takes inappropriate liberties with a minor; some jealous person hurts an ex-girlfriend or boyfriend… then commits suicide.   Sometimes folks find out the arrangement with a sex buddy isn’t as exclusive as he or she thinks it should be—so the person somehow threatens the “wayward” buddy… and catches a case.

It gets overwhelming at times, but I refuse to get salty.   I don’t want to forget  life’s niceties:  family, friends, and simple pleasures like memories of  warm sunshine on my face spiked with the perfect breeze, which can create a perfect temperature. Other niceties include hearty laughter after a witty joke shared with friends, and outdoor concerts with music I really vibe with down to my bones. Observing smiley parents and carefree children frolicking with newly twisted balloon animals, and having conversation with folks who ooze kindness complete that experience.

There’s so much bad news everywhere, but I’m determined to maintain a grateful attitude no matter what I hear, read, or see every day.

It isn’t always easy.

To stave off and eliminate encroaching cynicism, I decided to undertake the gratitude challenge. I don’t even know where I got this idea. It was probably from a mixture of places: random inspirational readings, Facebook posts, and the constant back-of-mind reinforcement from my childhood (I went to church almost EVERY week growing up).  During those early years, I learned that gratitude is key to the Christian life, and later learned it’s woven throughout other viewpoints as well. I don’t recall if I read a social media challenge somewhere that encouraged folks to  find one thing to be grateful for daily, and I decided to write three—or if I encountered a challenge that encouraged folks to jot down three things for 21 days to inspire the habit of choosing happiness.

Whatever the case, I started writing three a day in October.  It was my intent to only write three things for 21 days, but I’m still going with this. Must be a habit.

Anyway, these humble entries represent some of my self-reminders to stay grateful, to cherish the simple things, to know there’s something to be grateful for at all times.

Might as well start on Thanksgiving.

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