Remember our troops!

Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the number of moments that take your breath away !!

I'm back!!!!

Here I am back again! I don't know if anyone actually ever reads this blog but I have decided that it is time to bring it back to life. I am finally starting to settle into a somewhat normal existence. No more travel for awhile. I am looking forward to the holidays. I have spent the last few years away from home on the holidays taking care of aging, dying parents. Last year we were in a hotel in Columbus, Ohio over the holiday. We went to a late movie on Christmas eve after spending the day with my dad at his nursing home and Christmas dinner was a hamburger from Steak and Shake (good but not Christmas dinner). This year I am going to pull out all of the stops and bake and decorate and enjoy the holidays. Woohoo! I will begin regular posting to spread the cheer!

Memorial Day Remembered!

No, Freedom isn't Free

I watched the flag pass by one day.

It fluttered in the breeze.

A young Marine saluted it,

And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform

So young, so tall, so proud,

With hair cut square and eyes alert

He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him

Had fallen through the years.

How many died on foreign soil?

How many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?

How many died at sea?

How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?

No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of taps one night,

When everything was still

I listened to the bugler play

And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times

That taps had meant "Amen,

"When a flag had draped a coffin

Of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,

Of the mothers and the wives,

Of fathers, sons and husbands

With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard

At the bottom of the sea

Of unmarked graves in Arlington.

No, freedom isn't free.

Thanks to all of our servicemen and women!

A Blast From the Past!

A lovely night out on the town!

Rachel and I took a nice walk down memory lane tonight by seeing "All Shook UP" on stage at the Orpheum Theater. At least memory lane for me, for Rachel it was history. She bought the tickets for me for Mother's Day and I loved it. I have always been a big Elvis fan and still love his music and that is what this show was based on. It was all about a hip swinging, motorcycle riding, stud muffin and the town that he woke up. It was very well done and had loads of talent. Thanks Rachel, what a great gift!!!!

Where Eagles Soar!

http://www.briloon.org/watching-wildlife/eagle-cam.php

Above is the link to a phenomenal website that chronicles the plight of a pair of eagles nesting off of the Massachusett's coast in an unknown location. I have personally been watching this pair for 2 years. Last year they had a successful birth of two beautiful eaglets, a male and a female. Both successfully left the nest at maturity. This year the eagles again laid their eggs in early March and I was excited to await the new arrivals. Well, we all know what a crazy spring this was. I watched this mother sit on those eggs through snow, sleet, torrential rains, extreme wind and never waiver from her nest or her quest to take care of her eggs. The eaglets were born in early April successfully, than came the Noreaster storm that devastated the nest and regretfully took the life of the babies. I was so taken by the disappointment and what that mother bird had endured and in the end lost her babies. Now the eagles are coming back and forth to the nest (we all had hopes that they may nest again but we think it just took too much of a toll on her). They are beautiful birds to watch and to get a glimpse into the nest and these birds is amazing. There were times when I would watch her looking into that camera and wonder what she was thinking. It was almost as if she sensed the camera. Please take a moment to go to this link, there is also links to other nests. Be sure to read the blog and please donate if you are able. This is a worthy organization and will bring you hours of enjoyment and much education. Watching this process will change your whole perspective on nature, suffering and the majesty of these birds.

Spring! and the big "C"

It is time to update my blog or get chastised from my daughter! It is spring, my favorite time of year! My life has been in turmoil and sometimes I feel like I am spinning out of control and then I look outside and see everything coming to life, the green lawns, the trees, flowers, the beautiful blue sky and it somewhat makes up for the chaos. I see the new life, the birds, the geese are parading around with their new babies in tow and it shows us how beautiful life can be even in difficult times. This has not been a good year for our family, I lost my dad on January 24th after a long battle with prostate cancer that turned into bladder cancer. He fought a valiant battle and loved life and never complained through years of discomfort. We laid him to rest and thought that life would normalize somewhat but then found out that my husband's PSA (the measuring of prostate cancer through a blood test) had become elevated and that he needed to have a biopsy done. We were very shocked to learn that he did indeed have cancer and thus the journey began. A few days after the surgery we got the pathology and were told that the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes and was more aggressive than 99% of prostate cancer. He has been off of work for a month and really doing very well other than the news of his disease. He will have more screening done on May 18th and we go see the oncologist on the 25th. We are trying to work through the overload of information and I will keep everyone informed as to how his treatment will go. We are now focused on trying to make life as normal as it can be under the circumstances. We plan on going about life as we always do and taking every day one step at a time. We have a great family and we will fight this disease and win! I really debated whether to bridge this subject on my blog but blogs are about life and this is my life now. This is an important issue and almost epidemic with men in their 50's and 60's so I will do what I can do to educate and bring this cancer to the forefront. Stay tuned................................

The Beauty of the Amazon

Though for the Day!

Shock and Awe!

Well they really got me this time. I pride myself on knowing what is going on around me at all times but then I am 60 now and maybe skipping a beat. My kids and husband had a surprise party for me last weekend for my 60th and I have to say I WAS SURPRISED!. It was wonderful. Ruth and Jason came from California and my sister and her husband came from Washington DC and my baby brother Jeff came from Versailles, KY. You could have knocked my over with a feather when I walked in (may I ad in my sweats) and saw all of the people there. My son and daughter-in-law, Paula had the party at their house and it was a social event. Paula had wonderful appetizers and a gourmet meal and Donna supplied a birthday cake befitting a princess. All in all it was so wonderful to have such a happy occasion after the trials of the past few months. Thanks to all of my wonderful kids and husband for the great party and beautiful necklace. I am so blessed to have all of you and you have made the transition to my 60's bearable.

Exercise, Exercise!

This is the continuation of the I am going to be 60 saga and going to get into better shape. I have joined a new fitness facility and have worked out twice in the last week. I am starting out very, very slow so that I don't pull something or hurt myself in any way. I am a firm believer that exercise is the key to longevity and quality of life. I have been very very lax for the past year and a half as far as exercising. I attributed this to the stress of my dad's illness and the constant travel back and forth and just general fatigue associated with everything, whereas had I been exercising it probably would have made coping a little better. Sometimes things are just a "catch 22' but I am through making excuses and am going to really get back into the shape that I was a few years ago when I worked out with a trainer and lost a lot of weight and felt so much better. This time the weight loss is not primary but just getting in shape. The weight will take care of itself if I exercise regularly. I am really looking forward to spring so that I can start walking again. Well I will continue to report on my progress and everyone say a little prayer that I continue down this road.

A Moral to Every Story

Once upon a time, a young lady was born without a belly button. In its place was a golden screw. All the doctors told her mother that there was nothing they could do. Like it or not, she was stuck with it. All the years of growing up was real tough on her, as all who saw the screw madefun of her. She avoided ever leaving her own house and thus, never made any friends. One day, a mysterious stranger saw her belly and told her of a swami in Tibet that could get rid of the screw for her. She was thrilled. The next day she took all of her life's savings and bought a ticket to Nepal. After several days of climbing up steep cliffs, she came upon agiant monastery. The swami knew exactly why she had come. She was told to sleep in the highest tower of the monastery and the following day when she awoke, the screw would have been removed. The woman immediately went to the room and fell asleep. During the night while she slept, a purple fog floated in an open window, bearing in its mist, a golden screwdriver. In just moments, the screwdriver removed the screw and disappeared out the window. The next morning when the girl woke, she saw the golden screw laying on the pillow next to her. Reaching down, she felt her navel, and there was no screw there! Jubilant, she leaped out of bed, and her butt fell off. The moral to this is: Don't screw around with things you don'tunderstand -- or you could lose your ass!

59 and counting!!!!!!

Well !it' official this is my last week of being 59 until the big one hits. I used to think of 60 year old people as being elderly people who I had nothing in common with. Now low and behold here I am. I really don't know how I got here. Somehow the years kept passing and I kept getting older and older and my kids kept getting older and now I am approaching 60 years old. Wow I can't even comprehend it. Don't get me wrong, it is not all bad. I don't think that I would want to go back if I could because there is some peace and serenity to aging and I no longer worry about what people think of me because I am at peace with who I am and what life is all about. I have made a 60 year old resolution to go back to exercising and living healthy but also enjoying life to it's fullest. It is very cliche but I am going to stop and smell the roses and take no shit from anyone to put it literally. So I will bid 59 a fond adieu and go into my 60's with vim and vigor and a strong positive attitude!

I'm Back

Just a little note to all of my blogger friends if any of them are still out there that I am back after a lengthy time away from blogging. My dad passed away January 24th and the months leading up to that and the weeks after have not been exactly normal. I hope to start really adding things to my blog now. This is just to say Hi! and much more will follow!