An Offering to Change a Life

I often talk about giving – giving of one’s heart, one’s time, one’s energies…but what about giving a part of oneself?

2 months ago, our 5-year-old saw some children who didn’t have any hair, and naturally she was full of questions. We gently explained how others can help by showing her pictures and answering all her questions.

The outcome: “I want to donate my hair to the children who lost their hair.”

We let 2 months pass to make absolutely sure, but she was adamant. So last week, our family took her to Mommy’s hairdresser for her 1st real salon experience.

The salon made a real fuss over her – from chocolates and orange juice to special organic products gifted from the family owners presented in a lovely embroidered bag.

  

Everyone in the salon was simply thrilled a little 5 year old knew exactly what she wanted to do and why.

It was a wonderful experience we will never forget!!

The Bright Spot™  – Our daughter says she’s looking forward to doing it again. We are very proud!

For more information, visit Angel Hair for Kids, Pantene Beautiful Lengths, Wigs for Kids, or Locks of Love to make a donation.

Please take a minute to read the next 2 short stories ~ Grandma didn’t pass away from old age – she had cancer – as did her youngest daughter whom she lost years earlier. The above was an important story for us, thank you for sharing.

Is This The End?

We received the dreaded call on New Year’s Eve. The children’s Grandmother had a few days to live and the hospital now moved her to the nearby hospice.

Happily married for 60 years this year, Granddad looked at his daughter with deep, sad eyes and asked, “Is this the end?” when she drove him there that afternoon instead of the hospital.

Every day he sat next to her, held her hand, read her the newspaper,

or stood over her…everyday he must have thought will this be the last day I gaze on my bride.

Blind for the last 2 years, Grandma looked forward to hearing Granddad read to her.

We are proud of our son’s great strength and love of his grandparents.

Our daughter could stand for hours and just lovingly adore her grandmother.

 (This photo was taken 2 years ago)

We’ve explained to our 5-year-old that Grandma is growing her angel wings for her flight to Heaven.

She understands that when Grandma’s an angel, she would get her sight back and then she can fly into her playroom or room and watch over her as she has fun or sleeps. She would be the children’s special Guardian Angel. She could see us but we couldn’t see her. That gave our little one great comfort.

As these days grew longer with sorrow and Grandma’s breaths grew shorter with life, our little one would ask, “Is Grandma an angel today?”

With a very, very, very heavy heart and cheeks stained with burning tears, I write this late hour with the hopes of healing my aching heart…….Grandma took flight early today.

The Bright Spot  – Good God, unbelievably, I have a Bright Spot even in this darkest hour…I was able to tell her again, just 45 precious minutes before her passing, what an extraordinary, wonderful, incredible mother, mother-in-law and grandmother she was and how much I loved her, adored her, looked up to her, and how blessed I was to have her in my life, to model my marriage after hers, and to raise my children with the love she showed us. I was able to say good-bye.

(**Please see the next 2 stories, as a favor to me tonight, about love and time.** They are important to this story and, hopefully, important to you in your life.)

Oh, my heart grieves for Granddad. They shared every moment together for 60 years; Grandma’s cozy chair beside his in the den is now empty.

Why I Love You

When my beloved father died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack, my sister’s and my life completely changed. He was the most special Daddy and we adored him.

Thanksgiving was the 1st big holiday without him and the empty dining room chair at the head of the table was a cutting reminder he wasn’t coming back.

One of the million things I learned from my father was to tell people why they are so special.

So when I learned earlier this year a close friend of 40 years was very ill from lung cancer, I not only rushed to her that day to tell her why I loved her so much, but I also wrote her a long letter of each and every little thing that made her special to me.

She loved my children like her own grandchildren and they even called her Nana.

It gutted me when she died, but I had no regrets. She knew how much I loved her.

We’ve just returned from Europe.

We took the children out of school and spent the Thanksgiving holiday in England. Of course, England doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving but it was a time to give thanks and tell a very special and significant woman in my life why she means the world to me.

Yes, it was that time again – Thanks…giving – a reminder to give deep thanks for why the people around me are so special and wonderful because there may not be another time – we had received a phone call that Grandma was in the hospital. So off we went!

We spent every day with her. She loved to have her arms stroked, and her grip was strong and purposeful as she hugged. She listened intently as our 5 year old sang her dozens of songs.

Grandma is blind. She lost her sight 2 years ago. She said to hear her grandchild’s voice in song was simply precious.

Every day her room was filled with grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins and in-laws. Our visits were happy and loving, joyous and tender.

I spent my time with her telling her all the reasons I loved her. There are so many, it took all the days we were there to tell her.

The point is I learned the lesson my father taught me – tell those special to you how much you love them – you see, I didn’t wait until now to tell this incredible woman how much she means to me, I’ve been telling her throughout the years. But this week, I went over everything again just to reiterate how important she has been in my life, in my marriage and as a parent.

Next year will be 60 years with her husband, a beautiful role model of the most loving marriage.

The Bright Spot  – You have time right now to call that special someone in your life and tell them why you love them so much. Don’t wait. Because life can change in a flash and you don’t want to have any regrets.

 

How Do You Measure Time?

(This is a special 3-part post that runs from December 21 – December 28th. As you read down the page, you’ll know what I mean.)

I am so tired of people being offended by holiday greetings, holiday decorations, holiday traditions.

I just heard in the news yesterday that some people in England want everyone to take down their outdoor Christmas decorations because it depresses and offends them because they don’t celebrate Christmas and have no decorations.

Please read Mission: “Bright Spot” in the navigation bar above – just click on the flower.

There you will learn much about me…including that I come from a very large, close-knit, multicultural, multi-religious, multi-international, multi-lingual family.

We were raised to be open and accepting of all cultures and religions; raised to be respectful and open-minded. To be kind and thoughtful of other families’ customs and celebrations.

If you want to put up a tree, put up a tree. If you want to light a Menorah, light a Menorah. If you want to drink from a Kikombe cha Umoja Unity Cup for Kwanzaa, drink from the cup, but for God’s sake, stop your cantankerous yammering, put on your happy face and let the world celebrate…together!

Embrace the differences.

(Our Snowy Village and Christmas Tree)

 

I remember one year buying a Mezuzah for my brother-in-law. I had one of the Rabbis explain what it was. I initially liked its beauty but when he explained what it was, I was doubly excited.

As it was December 22nd, the Rabbi asked me what it was for. “It’s a Christmas present for my brother-in-law,” I beamed.

I explained that my father was Muslim, my mother a Lutheran, my sister and I were baptized Protestant, we went to Catholic schools for 17 years and my sister married a Jewish man, and that was just a glimpse of my very unique family…then the Rabbi hugged me and said, “You are what the United Nations should be!”

Today, my sister called to tell me her husband collapsed and was rushed to the hospital unconscious. As I wait here with the children, I can only pray. And then pray some more.

One of my cousins had sent me the following in an e-mail. It asks “How Do You Measure Time?”

The author is unknown but the message is clear. We don’t know how long we have with one another, so enjoy every moment.

To realize the value of 4 years:
Ask a graduate.

To realize the value of 1 year:
Ask a student who has failed a final exam.

To realize the value of 9 months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realize the value of 1 month:
Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of 1 minute:
Ask a person who has missed  the train, bus or plane.

To realize the value of 1 second:
Ask a person who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of a friend or family member: LOSE ONE.

Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have.

And hold on tight to the ones you love!

The Bright Spot   – I have the power of prayer in my belief system. You may believe otherwise, but that’s the beauty of this nation.

We are strong because we are different. Don’t worry about who’s celebrating what. Celebrate with them and enjoy  life!

UPDATE ON THIS STORY (the following morning):

As soon as the kids were off to school, I drove to the hospital which was more than an hour away (my husband went yesterday). And thank God I left so early! Here’s why:

My sister set off shortly after I left. We planned that I would visit my brother-in-law 1st in Intensive Care while she waited in the lobby with their little one. Then we would switch and I would watch their daughter while she visited with her husband. (Their little one wasn’t allowed upstairs because of a bad virus). 

During my visit I found out that he had been feeling very ill, had picked up this virus while away on business, and then really felt ill yesterday morning. He felt so delirious, he could no longer make out the numbers on his phone to dial 911, so he called out to a neighbor nearby, waving, “Help me! Help me please!” She looked at him and drove off. He said he felt like he was dying and he didn’t want to die at home alone, he wanted to get to the public so he went to the nearby coffee shop and staggered in, telling the owner he was a diabetic and needed help.

The owner yelled at him that he must be drunk because he was slurring his words so the owner called the police – not an ambulance!! Then he threw my brother-in-law out the door and told him to wait outside for the police – excuse me, it’s 20 degree weather here!!  No longer able to stand, he waited on the ground, delirious, weak and shivering.

The police arrived. My brother-in-law had just his last ounce of strength left to mumble he was a diabetic and was feeling very strangely and then he passed out.

Doctors told us when the ambulance arrived, glucose levels in a healthy body are supposed to average 100, his count was 1,700 and that he was close to slipping into a coma and was 10 minutes from dying. They actually say he is a “prime case study” because none of them knew how he didn’t die. Now I ask you – where is all this holiday spirit of love and giving and kindness and helpfulness? I was just sick when I heard all this!

So then, while I was visiting him in Intensive Care, a call came in from a hospital staff member telling me that my sister had slipped in the lobby, cut her hand on some rusty metal and was in the Emergency Room undergoing treatment, a Tentanus shot, and x-rays and could I come and get the little one.

The day was long for all of us. So what’s the Bright Spot  in all this??

I remembered my own blog post above from yesterday – how do we measure time, how do we value time? I was with my sister, brother-in-law and niece. I was there to be a helping hand. I was there for a reason. It’s 2 days before Christmas Eve, our big celebration, when I could have been flitting about with last-minute preparations. And tomorrow is a big show on our radio program, I could have been preparing guest questions, etc…

But I was with family ~ and there was no other place I would have rather been but right there in the hospital…valuing my time with my loved ones.

UPDATE December 28th:

My brother-in-law has now finally been moved out of the Intensive Care Unit, thank God. He will be in the hospital for quite some time. Thank you so much for all of the e-mails that were sent to us last night – we appreciate it!

Thank you from my family to yours. Hold those you cherish close to you as you celebrate the New Year.

Tea Cups

Our sweet, adorable “Uncle” George passed away at the age of 95. 

He was the consummate gentleman.

Always held the door open, always in a suit, tie and outdoor hat to go to dinner – no complaints or excuses even as he wearied in his 90s.

He was a devout religious man, a boy scout, an engineer, a loving husband, an incredible man.

My husband’s father and my father had both passed away and George became the

Patriarch of our family. 

His beloved wife, Mildred, had passed away about 16 years ago and we met George the following year ~ he lived next door to my sister on the beach – this is her lovely house at sunset – simply glorious.

Mildred and George had no children; we “adopted” George into our family and for 15 years we shared every holiday, every birthday and every regular day in between as family.

He even had a cell phone on our family plan. 

For George’s 90th birthday, we had more than 80 people at our home to celebrate. We set up huge foam poster boards with photos from his youth – he kept those boards all around his home for years.

Whenever we visited George at his home, he would make tea. It was our very own special tradition – he always had delicious goodies and a fine story to tell.

But the time came when George wasn’t feeling well. He asked us what we would like from him to remember him by.

He knew very clearly we never wanted anything but his love, strength, model of life for our children and model of love and communication for our marriage. But he asked more persistently as he was dissolving his material things so I said we would be honored to have his tea cups.

We would enjoy them throughout our lifetime and think of him.

Little Petal’s Fairy Princess Tea Party for her 4th birthday was inspired by George ~ for he gave us these gorgeous porcelain tea cups that he and Mildred had collected from all around the world.

We honored his gracious gift by telling that story to everyone at the tea party

and we all clapped in his honor.

Below is Little Petal turning 4 and her adorable friend – all the little princess were

so naturally gentle with the porcelain. So sweet and beautiful to see.

We miss our Uncle George very much but we know he longed to be with his dear wife so much.

Phillip and our son were pallbearers, carrying George to his final destination beside his beloved. Both said doing so was very healing for them.

George had brought flowers to Mildred’s resting site every single Saturday for 16 years. He is a model for all of us.

The Bright Spot  â€“ If we all bring one lonely person into our lives, we can change this world one snuggle at a time.

Please go to the Radio Show flower in the navigation bar above and listen to the show we broadcasted Live on November 4, 2010 – it’s now archived on this site ~ we talked about this wonderful way to integrate our Senior Citizens into our families, our lives (and the conversation after the elderly and children about World Vision reduced me to tears.)

Our Senior Citizens are the walking treasures of history, story-telling and love from a time gone by. Grab hold before their story is gone. Everyone in the family benefits and your experience will last for a lifetime!

“We Have Found Your Mother”

                           

                                 Mother – Ceil in 1983                          Daughter – Linda in 2010

“We have found your mother.”

Those were the words Linda heard after searching months for her birth mother.

Ceil had never held her baby, had never even seen her baby – EVER!

As she walked the halls of the maternity ward and saw the window to the nursery, she knew if she looked through the glass, she would not be able to go through with it – but in the 60s, it was difficult for a woman with a child to find a job, she said women didn’t have credit cards and they could not take out a loan on their own. Ceil wanted her baby to have a mom, a dad and a home.

She turned around in the hallway and went back to her room and sobbed her heart out.

Ceil never had any other children.

44 years later, her daughter found her!

Phillip and I documented the reunion that happened just 6 days ago – you’re invited to share this beautiful moment in the short video below in the next post, just scroll down – but to acutally hear their story, click on the Radio Show flower tab above in the navigation bar above to listen to their heart-wrenching story.

The Bright Spot  is clearly family – old and new -  love, hope and celebration!

« Previous Page