An E-MAIL

THE WOODEN BOWL

I guarantee you will remember the tale of the Wooden Bowl tomorrow, a week from now, a month from now, a year from now.


A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and
four-year old grandson.

The old mans hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table.

But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon and onto the floor. When he grasped the glass milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess.

"We must do something about Grandfather", said the son. "I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor."

So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There
Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandfathers direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone.

Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he had dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child curiously, "What are you making?"

Sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents that they were speechless.

Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening, the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped! , when milk was spilled, or when the tablecloth was soiled.

On a positive note,

* I've learned that no matter what happens or how bad it seems today, life goes on, and it will be better tomorrow.
* I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
* I've learned that, regardless of your relationship with your parents, you will miss them when they are gone from your life.
* I've learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life.
* I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

* I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.

* I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work, and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.
* I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.
* I've learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone.
People love that human touch -- holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.
* I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

* I've learned that you should pass this on to everyone you care about.


I just did







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Words of Wisdom....


This came across my mailbox a few days ago....and boy does it strike a cord with me.
I am headed off for a little 3 day R and R...much needed.
BE WELL.

quote...

this came across my mailbox this morning....a wave of hope came over me.

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full 0f overcoming it.
– Hellen Keller

BE WELL

Learning to float...


Today's journal page...I am staying just above the surface!
BE WELL

Riding the waves...


I am taking an online class...and this is my journal page for today...
I am feeling a bit like I am stuck in the sand...as if I can't seem to ride
with the waves...
So, as a friend told me this morning....perhaps it is just time to float!
Because I know that LIFE is this moment...NOW. And that I must live it to the fullest...each and every day...
BE WELL.

Marc Dana Lane


My good friend, Marc transitioned on Thursday, July 14th at 9:29 PM...Marc was the devoted husband to my friend, Lori and the father to 7 children (one, Mary who transitioned after 10 hours of life),and the grandfather to 9. Marc was an adventurer of life, one of the most intelligent people I have ever had the pleasure to meet, one of the most caring people with the sense of humor that is both sarcastic and funny! I have been friends with Marc for more than 50 years...meeting him in grammar school and maintaining a friendship throughout. He and his wife Lori have opened up their home to me to live in several times when I was going through a rough patch...they have opened up their hearts to me always. My heart now bares another hole that somehow I must mend...there was no time to prepare...and little time to even say good-bye...I am so glad I traveled to his home several weeks ago so I could actually see him and talk briefly with him. I had the honor to be at his side along with his family on Thursday. It was a peaceful passing...I have stayed with the family for several days as they try to move past the numbness...I will travel back when they celebrate his life...there was a gathering just for family and a few friends on Saturday the 16th. I will forever hear him say..."HELLO TOOTS" with his wide smile...whenever I walk into his home...he will be dearly missed by me...
BE WELL.

Marc Dana Lane
Jan. 22, 1950 - July 14, 2011

My Friend....

There will be no more chemo for my friend of 50 years...there will be no more treatments...no more tests...He has gotten so much worse and they don't expect him to be alive for more than a day or two now...His colon burst and he is full of cancer everywhere...I am beyond sad...
I am so glad that I got to see him when I went to their home a few weeks ago...I am glad we smiled at each other and joked a bit...Another ending for me...another form of darkness...I also grieve for my friend, Pat, who lost her beloved son after a 6 plus year battle...She sent me a note today, that is bringing me some comfort...

Our former minister of 33 years who now lives in Vermont with his wife said to me the other day "that when life gets dismembered, the way to begin to put it back together is to remember."

I am remembering my Michael...I am remembering going to visit my friend and how we all attended a baseball game last year and had a fabulous time...I am remembering the love...I am remembering the friendship...I am remembering that they will be forever in my heart...

I will be heading back to my friends' home in a few days to be with his wife and family...I hope that I will be able to see him one more time to thank him for all the wonderful memories that I will always hold dear...
BE WELL.

ART HEALS

I have the great pleasure of having been gifted an 8 week creativity course....and I am finding out that it came at just the right time..My book is complete and I am just waiting on hearing about the design for the cover...I have finished the trays for Sophie...I am still working on a chair for a charity auction (but I can't seem to just sit and finish this piece so I work on it here and there)...
This creativity course is helping me to make a small journal page of art EVERY day! It is helping me to sail my boat again...opening myself back up to ME...I have hidden most of myself away for the past few years...only allowing myself to venture out here and there...(I tend to punish myself by taking away the things I love the most...must be a learned response!) I am finding that I took the art away because it made me happy...and how dare I be happy when Michael was so sick....BUT ...back it is coming...slowly allowing me to work every day...I am HAPPY! It makes me happy to paint and write and search and believe that I have listened to my heart and have something to say! ART HEALS...I am finding this out more and more each day!
BE WELL...

Comfortable...

I was totally comfortable in my skin yesterday as I hosted the family gathering...
this is the first one I have had at my house where the entire family was present!(actually in several years)
Everyone was having a good time as they arrived at 1:00 and the last ones left around 8:00...
I actually had a wonderful holiday weekend...and felt more like myself than I have in a very long time...laughing and joking...talking...
I think this is a really good sign!
UPDATE:
My friend, started chemo, and after 2 1/2 weeks in the hospital has come home...just trying to get comfortable and heal the best way possible...The chemo treatment is done thru a shunt in the chest and lasts for 24 hours every 2 weeks...they are not sure at this point if it will be done at home or in the hospital... Going back to the Oncologist in 2 weeks....I hope to be back to see them within the next several weeks..
BE WELL

Strength...

I have been out of town helping my friend as she handles the news that her husband
has Stage 4 colon/liver cancer...it was so difficult, knowing all that I know that is in store for her...knowing that there is only so much that I can do to help her and that the journey is an emotional one...It hit me...it ripped at my already torn heart...
So I took care of her overgrown garden while she went to the hospital...I made sure that she ate meals...I talked with her till the wee hours of the morning...I held her hand...I hugged her...I told her that I loved her...
Her husband has been my friend since the 5th grade...he was 2 years older than me and I would see his handsome face walking through the halls in the grammar school thinking as little girls do...OH...HOW CUTE IS HE! But, we actually became friends in church, taking a youth class on Sunday evenings eating tuna fish sandwiches...we could talk to each other...he teased me..(he still does!) We went to proms together because we could be ourselves without putting on some sort of formal attitudes with our formal wear! We are friends...and he introduced me to his wife some 42 years ago...and we are friends...
When Michael was diagnosed in 2008, he and I were shopping one day and we found a necklace with the universal symbol for gratitude...written around the spiral were the words...YOU HAVE ALL THE STRENGTH THAT YOU NEED INSIDE...I have worn this necklace since that day he put it on me...This year for Valentine's Day he presented me with a locket...when you open it there is a working compass inside...This was his answer to my question..."What am I going to do without you?"..."you will find your direction" the card read ...and I placed the spiral on the new chain with the compass and he placed it around my neck...Wednesday morning I asked my friend if she had a silver chain...she found one...and I slid off the spiral from my chain and placed it on hers and then around her neck...we sat on the floor of her bedroom and cried in each others arms...
I know I have all the strength that I need inside...I have proven it to myself over and over during these 3 1/2 years that necklace served me well...Now she needs to know it...I hope the necklace serves as a reminder as she sits waiting for treatments to be done...while she fiddles with that spiral around her neck and holds on to her strength...
BE WELL.