Ok, the cold winter weather can leave any day now! I'm not sure about you but I've already had enough of the sub-zero temperatures and the snow. This winter season has been like the Winters we used to get when I was growing up. Lots of snow and temperatures that would make your nostrils stick together! Welcome to Canada eh!
I received a Facebook message the other day from a fellow Cancer survivor's mother who gave me some much needed fuel and helped to remind me why I do this blog and that I CAN make a difference, in my own life, as well as helping others to "see the forest through the trees". Here is an except of what this kind lady had to say:
Although we haven`t formally met, I`ve been following your blogs for some time. Heather arranged it so that I could access both your story and Beth`s....and I must say that I have treasured the chance to do so. The journey each of you has been reluctantly taking, simply takes my breath away...and the way each of you has shared the reality of it all, on your computers, is almost unbelievable. Through the words you have shared, you are giving each one of your readers a gift....a priceless gift. Heather`s Dad and I both thank you Ed......and we want you to know we have kept you in our thoughts and prayers ever since Heather put us in touch with your blogs.
What a powerful team you, Beth, Heather and now Bev, have become....each supporting one another.....and without even knowing it, being supported by many others. For example you are each on prayer lists of Ingersoll churches such as St. James and First Baptist....and I can add that your names are remembered in churches in both PEI and Welland...so .don`t you wonder how many more are thinking of you each and every day.....certainly more than you have ever imagined.
Aside from wishing you well Ed, I want to tell you that your writing skills are excellent...and they have continued to grow....spelling, grammar and organization, all tempered with poignant reality and touching inserts of humour...what a balancing act...you`re just amazing. Don`t know what your background has been in terms of education, but clearly you are a gifted writer...was this always your strength or has it been a recently acquired skill. Don`t doubt the value of sharing your thoughts and words Ed... you`ll never know how many people they have impacted....and how many of these people will remain unknown to you. So as I say to Heather..." .Hang in there....and keep on keeping on."
Its comments like this that keep my motivation level high and remind me of all the reasons for fighting my "creeping Charlie". I have been blessed with a beautiful daughter, a wonderful family and amazing friends who have all stepped up to the fight, right along side of me. Who could ask for anything more?!
As for the current status of my moving to St.Thomas, my family and I are continuing our search for something suitable for me. I truly do not want to move into an apartment complex or anything like that for Faith's sake. I want for both of us to be comfortable and at peace in our new home and for me, that means being able to play in the backyard without having to pack up and go to a park, or for me not to stress when she has friends over and they bellow out the "little girl screams" just because they are having fun. I'm sure that something will turn up in the near future for us :)
Well its Soccer Sunday....Faith plays indoor soccer in St.Thomas and I still try to coach her team (or at least be a human pylon). I thoroughly enjoy playing with all the kids every Sunday. It boils down to more than teaching them basic soccer skills too, it has a lot more to do with teaching them right from wrong, basic manners, sportsmanship and friendship. Soccer Sunday is one of the places where I know I will always walk away from with a smile on my face from the hour of fun we had.
On that note, I'd better get my gear together and start my day.
Thanks for everyone's continued support of our fight against the "C" word.
Much love,
Ed
(and I am sure I can, with confidence add Heather's, Beth's and Bev's name to this.) Keep fighting the fight ladies, we are worth every struggle!)
4 comments:
Awesome Ed....just awesome.
It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how strong the man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust, sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows great enthusiams, great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
- Theodore Roosevelt -
Ed, when I saw this quote I immeadiately thought of you. I am blessed for having known you and loved you. You make the world a better place. Wishing only good things for you and yours.
I still wonder why people leave "Anonymous" comments. Grrr I truly just would like to know who they are is all :)
When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.
The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of dispair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.
--Henri Nouwen, Out OF Solitude
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