A Memory Shared ...

Grab a cup of coffee and sit a while and prayerfully I hope you glean something from this rather long post ... <smile>  First thing I want to say is .... I had to get a little hair cut yesterday ... OK, so it was just a little clean up on my neck in the back but it was still a hair cut.  Hey ... when you've been where I've been ... you get to celebrate the small things.  Praising the Lord for my hair lady, Tamisha, and all the ladies I get to see when I go to Hightower Salons.  We laugh and chat and receive blessings from each other.

On Monday when I went to The Center to pick up a prescription and I ran into the husband of one of my survivor sisters.  If you held a gun to my head, I could not tell you his name.  He is such a wonderful support to his sweet wife who is going through her second bout with this mean old breast cancer.  He shared with me they had found lesions on her brain.  They have changed the treatment now.  Our job is to pray ... pray for this beautiful sweet lady who is going through the rushing troubled waters and pray for her hubby and their two sons (ages 9 and 11).  Breast cancer attacks one member of the family but it has a high impact of all the members.  My dear sweet friends name is Rena ... please lift her up in your prayers as well as her hubby and sons.

I also visited with my friend, Carolyn, who has been through breast cancer and is a volunteer at The Center.  She's the sweetest and always has a smile.  I told her to expect me there volunteering right along side her in three years when I can retire.  I absolutely know that God wants me there to volunteer and be with those who are going through troubled waters.

When I got to my car I must admit ... and I do it with my head held high ... I burst out in tears for my friend.  My heart hurt so bad.  All I could do was sit in my car with tears streaming down my face and pray.  I prayed for peace, healing and most of all ... with the knowledge that God has everything under control.  I gathered myself, wiped my face and headed on to work praising God for all He has done for me and my survivor sisters ... all of us.

I was sitting at the intersection of Rosedale and Hemphill waiting in the left turn lane to turn toward downtown.  The light changed to green for the lanes heading west (I was facing east) and the few cars took off.  All of a sudden I could see things dropping out of this SUV headed west and there were things rolling around the intersection.  Lo and behold the flip up trunk door in the back of the SUV had evidently not locked close when the lady had put her groceries in her car and it had flipped up and two or three bags of her groceries fell out.  She realized what had happened when she got across the intersection and stopped to close it BUT she left a full bag of groceries laying in the lane ... I could understand her leaving the onions and other produce that had escaped one of the bags as they were here there and everywhere.  I grabbed my phone and took pictures from my side of the intersection to give you an idea of the produce rolling around.

Above:  See the white vehicle ... look to the left
as those were the groceries that escaped.

Above:  See the onion by the stripped line?

Well as I sat there ... my once crying eyes dried up and laughter hit.  It was not laughter due to this women's unfortunate incident but rather an incident that happened to me and my bestest friend when I was growing up ... Janice T.  

Janice and I were bestest friends for years and years.  We lived within a stones throw of each other on different streets.  If we weren't at her house, we were at mine.  We spent the nights at each others house and were pretty much inseparable for many many years.  When we were about 13 and 14 (she's a year younger than me) we were at her house and her Mom was not feeling well but needed a few things from the grocery store (key word here - few).  There was absolutely nothing Janice and I would not try ... most of the time succeeding one way or the other so we told her Mom that we would walk to Safeway (at the corner of Beach St and Belknap at that time) and we would get the groceries that was needed... after all her Mom didn't feel well so how much could she want?  We got the list for the grocery store and also the order for Kentucky Fried Chicken which was across Belknap from Safeway and the money and away we went.  I'm guessing it was about a half mile to Safeway from Janice's house and we decided to walk.  On other occasions we might have taken my bike but today we felt we better walk. NOTE:  We shared the bike ... she would pump me and I would sit in the middle of those high rise handlebars.  (Yes, my fanny did fit in there at one time <smile>,

That bike was our transportation for many years.  Anyway ... back to the story ... we got to Safeway and got our basket aka shopping cart ... the one with wheels.  At this point I'm beginning to think that we have bit off more than we could chew ... a push basket with wheels, two teenage girls and another stop to make at KFC before we head back down Parrish Rd. for a half mile to get home.  Hmmmm oh well ... we had many adventures and I knew we could do this.  We are acting so big and pushing the cart around gathering Ginger's groceries from her list ... get to the check out line and start checking out and the sack boy begins sacking our groceries and the bags of groceries were multiplying.  Thoughts .. Uh Oh how are we gonna get this home?  We probably looked at each other and laughed at that point because that's just what we did - we laughed - and at many inappropriate times.  Once she paid for our purchases we had to decide who was going to carry which sack(s)... yes, there were several and I think we had to buy a gallon of milk so that was one sack all by itself and it was heavy.  We did it ... we each got our many bags and headed out the door ... and of course, we were tickled and laughing which did not help our current situation.  We get through the parking lot of Safeway and head to the intersection to cross Belknap to get to that dag gone KFC because we had to get the chicken.  If we were really talented we could have balanced that bucket of chicken on our head but we weren't and besides I'm sure it would not balance well because all we could do is laugh.  So now we get the light where we can cross Belknap ... we head out across the intersection and I think Janice was walking a little head of me and it starts happening .... my bags begin to break open and there are lemons, lettuce, onions and other stuff rolling round in the middle of the intersection and in the case of the loaf of bread, it was just plopped there in the middle of Belknap.  I'm sure I yelled ... JANICE ... and when she looked back, she got tickled and started laughing and she began dropping her bags which busted them open too.  We couldn't quit laughing ... and we were blocking both west bound lanes of Belknap .. running around trying to gather our groceries that had escaped.  A man got out of his car and helped us gather the run away produce and get us to the side of the street where that stupid KFC was ... and we just laughed, looked around and wondered what we were going to do with these groceries.  My grocery bags were broken open so she runs in to the KFC to get some sacks ... they were not as big as the grocery bags so now we had more bags.  We gather up our produce and other groceries in those bags and get in to the KFC to get the chicken. Now keep in mind ... there were NO cell phones ... and we were independent and determined we were going to help her Mom so we didn't call anyone to come get us.  After we got that stupid chicken (laughing out loud) we head back to the infamous intersection to trudge that half mile back home.  Praise the Lord we got back across Belknap without incidence and headed home.  We were laughing and holding on to our prized purchases ... and a car pulled up.  It was Janice's grandmother who lived down the street from her and she ask if we wanted a ride ... DID we want a ride ... YEP ... we loaded the groceries and chicken in the car (that always smelled of oil paint and cigarette smoke) and got carried back home.  We shared our story with her grandmother who probably didn't find as much humor in it as Janice and I ... but as we were telling it, Janice and I laughed.  Janice, if you are reading this ... I know you are sitting there laughing as much as I have while remembering this incident ... one of many that we experienced in our long time friendship.  Memories I will never forget ... Thank you sweet friend for all the memories.  


Hang on to your memories, continue to laugh about them... no one can take those from us.  I'm blessed to have many good memories that outweigh the many not so good ones.

I receive a weekly email from Sherree, the nurse navigator at Baylor All Saints.  I get so much from her emails each week and she is such a blessing to many.  Sherree is a survivor sister and helped me when I met with her when my journey began.  Please take the time to read the following information that Sherree shared in her email this week ... it's much food for thought.

Sherree wrote:  I recently received this message from a palliative care nurse.  Palliative care is a transition program similar to Hospice.  This is her story:

Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. She recorded their dying epiphanies in a blog called Inspiration and Chi, which gathered so much attention that she put her observations into a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.

Ware writes of the phenomenal clarity of vision that people gain at the end of their lives, and how we might learn from their wisdom. "When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently," she says, "common themes surfaced again and again."

Here are the top five regrets of the dying, as witnessed by Ware:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

"This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realize, until they no longer have it."

2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.

"This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence."

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

"Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result."

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

"Often they would not truly realize the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying."

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

"This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again."

What's your greatest regret so far, and what will you set out to achieve or change before you die?  Now, that is a loaded question isn’t it?  We don’t know when we are going to die  do we?  So, we need to work on the changes now for whatever the future may hold.  De-stress, detangle our lives and live, love, and laugh!  We cannot always change the circumstances we are in but we can change our reaction!!  I can think of several women whom I consider my heroes who are personally treading in tremendous physical and/or emotional pain and upheaval!  However, each of these continue to love, work, smile, and don’t let their current circumstances control their every day!  They have cancer or other tragedy, but it doesn’t have them!!  We all have the choice  to love, to serve, to smile, to give, no matter what our circumstances are!

Cancer may take your hair, it may change your physical appearance, it may change your everyday world, but it cannot have your spirit!!  Find the light and walk in love!  It will make a difference!!

This is a much longer post than usual and I hope you stayed with a cup of coffee and read the entire writing.  Life is good ... find the positive ... slap the negative out of the way ... smile ... a smile lightens your heart.  Praise God ... always Praise Him.  


Blessed and praying blessings for you today.  

gkmorrison12@gmail.com