My Thoughts on Turning 50 and Kian Horse Riding at WDL Ranch

On June 19th, I turned a half a century old!  It just sounds so. . . . OLD.  However, I was quickly reminded that only five years ago, I wasn't sure if I would be here to celebrate my 45th birthday.  Things quickly hopped back into perspective for me.  So what if I'm 50.  You're only as old as you feel, right?!  Well. . . some days I feel like I'm still in my 20's and I can definitely act the part too.  Other days, when my joints are aching and I'm swallowing my chemo pills only to feel a bit queasy and tired for part of the day, I feel 90!  LOL  But guess what?  At least I am here to feel it.  So no complaining about my age.  What good does it do anyway?  It's not like the number is going to change.  It's time to look at having another birthday as a gift. 


There were a lot of astounding things that occurred in 1965 (besides my birth!  haha)  Can you imagine gasoline only costing 31cents a gallon?  Malcolm X was shot to death, and the first U. S. Combat troops arrived in Vietnam.  That's a lot of history that happened in just one year. Miniskirts came in fashion and a car cost an average of $2,650.  Sometimes I think it would be easier if we could go back to the way things were when I think of the world we live in now.  However, we can't go backward.  We can only move forward. 

I love what the Kermit poster says:  "Be thankful for the bad things in life.  For they opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before!"  I was one of those people that took things for granted.  Then I got sick.  Talk about an eye opener.  After I finally convinced myself that I needed to fight, I started to really look at things from a different perspective.  I don't take things for granted anymore.  I try to savor the moments-even if it's "just another day."  I appreciate the sun rise and the sunset, the rain and snowstorms.   I look forward to spending time together with family and friends.  I am thankful for each and every day God gives me to be a part of this world. 

I still have those moments where I wonder why I have been given more time here on Earth and others haven't.  There were several friends I lost this year from cancer and I found myself asking why?  I believe they call it Survivor's Guilt.  Instead of feeling bad about it, I need to be thankful that I am still here and not waste time questioning it.  God must have a plan for me. It's not my time yet.  I know there isn't a cure, but I am still here, so there is work to be done!  I must be here to make a difference.  Now those are big shoes to fill.

I'm not quite sure what it is I am supposed to be
doing, but hopefully being honest about my journey might help someone out there who is facing ovarian cancer.  Or maybe there is a family  like ours that carries the BRCA1 gene and they'll decide to get tested to see if they carry the gene.  Those who carry it can be proactive and save the lives of their family members!   Maybe spreading the word is what I am supposed to do.  Maybe continuing to teach and work with my students is the difference I will make.  I know I still have my own children that I want to be here for; Danielle will soon be married.  Someday maybe there will be grandchildren!  I want to be here when they boys get married if they decide to one day and grow old with Rob.  However, none of us are guaranteed tomorrow.   That's why we have to make the best of EACH day! So forget about how "OLD" you are and just

make the best of each day.  Try not to complain so much.  What good does that do anyway?  Some people miss out on so much of the beauty around them and the relationships they could enrich but they are too busy complaining about all they have to do.  I used to be like that.  Type A personality; everything had to be just so.  Not so much anymore.  If you stop by my house, maybe the sweeper hasn't been run yet.  Or there may be dishes in the sink if I had an exercise class to attend.  My bed is not always made, 

where before April 1, 2010, when we got up for the day,
the bed was made immediately.  It's not that important to me.  I'd rather go downstairs and talk to the family or have coffee with Rob.  Everything doesn't have to be perfect anymore.  I just want to appreciate each moment because that is what is most important to me.  If someone asks me how old I am, I may say I am 29 for the 21st time, or I may say 49 and holding because after all, it's just a number!

Thank you for all the cards and wishes!

My nephew Kian has been a tough little guy all 5 years of his life.  He was born with a birth defect called Spina Bifida.  That is when the spine was formed on the outside.  After he was born, he was whisked away and had surgery to put the spine back inside.

This little spit fire walks, rides a two wheel bike, kicks balls, and will run circles around me!  He may not be the fastest kid on the team, but he still gives it his all.  Last week I took a ride out to WDL Ranch in Fairview.  He has been involved in a study involving horseback riding.  It is to help his muscles become stronger and be able to feel when his bladder is filling or feel that urge that he needs to use the restroom.  He wears little braces up to his calf to give him more strength and mobility.  He doesn't have those connected muscles in his calves, so he sometimes tires sooner than someone else might.  However, I rarely see this kid slow down! 

His horse's name is Hondo.  He is a chubby horse that Kian has been riding for two plus years now twice a week.  It is a wonderful program and he is actually showing improvement when it comes to feeling that urgency to use the restroom!

  He loves to make faces at me since he knew I had come to see him do his exercises on Hondo.  They truly do exercise while riding the horse!  They work on stretches and spinning around facing forward and backward on Hondo.  They also do a Superman stretch and then they ride the horse around.  I even got to see him get Hondo to trot! 

 Here he is riding Hondo backward!  I was really impressed with the program and how well Kian has come along with it.  He is doing a great job!  He's a  fiesty fighter like his Aunt Suzie!  :)

Of course the Program Director was showing him how to give Hondo treats.  I insisted we bring Hondo some carrots.  So Kian set the carrot down for Hondo, and then he gobbled them up.  We saved a few for ourselves for the car ride home.

 If we let our age or anything for that matter hold us back from experiencing life to its fullest, we are being foolish.  No one knows what the future holds, so get out there and surprise everyone you meet in what you are able to do! 

I'll have more to share as we continue to countdown to the wedding!  Have a wonderful upcoming week!

Shower Memories Part I of this weeks blog

                           

The Wedding Shower was a lot of fun once we got everything there and set up.  We did a pretty good job incorporating their colors into the winery, if I do say so myself.  Fuschia and orange.  Danielle LOVES pink and Corey is a Dolphins fan, so he wanted orange.  (We'll try not to hold that against him!  haha)  Thankfully this is a summer wedding with bright colors like that. 


We incorporated wine bottles in a few ways.  We took wine bottles and spray painted them orange or pink.  Then we got out the modge podge, covered the bottles, and brought out the glitter!  You can never have enough sparkle!  Finally, after a few coats of modge podge and glitter, we added the clear coat.  The directions for the bottles were found on Pinterest, of course. 

We also took some wine bottles to a local ceramics place.  They melted some down for us and made others with a concave look.  That way, one could be used as a cutting board and the other as a little snack dish.  They came out
 looking pretty cool!

 As for the favors, we chose wine glasses, of course.  Again, we did more modge podge and glitter to bring in the fuschia color.  Then we wrote the names of the guests so that we didn't have to worry about name tags.  Danielle did all the writing.  She has great penmanship!  The names washed off, but the bedazzled stem and bottom will stay on at least through hand washing.  We aren't experts; just a little glitter crazed! 

Other than having a few minor glitches, all went well. Our iced tea container decided to leak, but Rob fixed that up.  We didn't have the dispenser tightened enough.  And we were short a glass or two, so he made a few trips home for us.  After his last trip, he decided to stay for the last hour.  I think he kind of enjoyed himself.   There he is, below posing with Roberta and one of my college roommates, Tammy.  Roberta's beautiful daughter, Sarah, (center) is getting married two weeks before Corey and Danielle.  We are

 looking forward to that! She will make another beautiful bride.  The Chinese Auction was a hit as well.  I couldn't have done all of this without the help of my Mom, Marcia, Melissa, Michelle, and the bridesmaids.    Everyone was given an adorable  tiny polka dotted envelope with 10 chances to win any basket they chose to put their number in. 

Below, is the beautiful cupcake wedding dress also bejeweled.  My friend Carrie did an amazing job on it.  There is a little similarity to it and Danielle's dress, but we will all have to wait for 29 more days to see the real thing!

Corey stayed and enjoyed the shower too.  He was

Bridesmaids

introduced as well with the bridesmaids and his Mom and aunt.   The picture of the bridesmaids below (l-r) are:  Emily-this will be Danielle's sister-in-law.  She is married to Matt, Corey's brother.  Becky is Danielle's Maid of Honor.  They went to Iroquois and formed a tight bond during the 2006 softball season.  Becky was catcher and Danielle was pitcher.  They have been close friends ever since then.  Stephanie is also a longtime friend and softball teammate.  Then we have Jordan.  She was Danielle's college roommate and teammate.  Last but not least, is Julie, Danielle's cousin!   The food was delicious.  We had some catered and some we prepared ourselves.  My Aunt Carol made the delicious Spinach Dip and Mom's friend made bruschetta.  JoAnn, Marcia, Michelle, Mom and me did some nice work cutting up fresh fruit and veggies.  I don't think anyone left hungry!

Me talking with Mrs. Vukovic and Emily

Mom (right in blue) with her lady friends

They were blessed to receive so many wonderful things.  There's my forever friend Kathy and Brenda, my friend and supervisor.

She was so excited to receive some moustache and lip bag holders.

Corey is thinking. . . I hope she can make toast at least!  hahaha

Corey knows his way around the kitchen, and I think he was happy to see these utensils.

Danielle has been admiring this Owl Cookie Jar for a while!  She was so happy she got it.  Corey is hoping she will make some cookies for it, I bet.

Her bouquet was filling up nicely for Rehearsal and she loved the mirror. 

The Keurig machine they were both thrilled to receive.  I'm not sure who enjoys their coffee more; Corey or Danielle. . .

Some of my dear colleagues who have helped me through so much over the past 5 years.

All in all, it was a terrific night; one I will cherish with me for a long time.  But who has time to think about all of that when I have a wedding to finish putting together!  29 days and counting!  Part II of my blog will cover turning 50 and the WDL Ranch.  Stay tuned!

🎶School's Out For Summer🎶 Shower & Moving Anticipation plus Sunshine ☀️

After a crazy week of wrapping up the school year, summer is finally here!  There was the Awards Ceremony, correcting final projects and papers, Field Day, completing progress reports and mailing them all out before I could finally walk out of the junior high doors and begin summer vacation.  What a great feeling of accomplishment!  The smell of summer has been in the air for the past week or so.  Have you noticed it?  I have been waiting for this moment for months.  No stress and it's Sunday night!  No packing our lunches or making sure papers have been corrected.  No upcoming meetings either!  So sweet!  I plan to stay up and read an extra hour or so just because I can.

Now that Summer is here,  we are busy preparing for Danielle's shower.  It's been slow going for over a year.  All of a sudden we are running around like crazy buying last minute items to make the shower a special time for all that attend.  Favors are just about done, table cloths and centerpieces are being put together and the food has been ordered.

Danielle has her first dress fitting this Tuesday.   Mrs. Vukovic is coming in to share in the moment.  She has raised 4 boys!  So having her along with us for the fitting will be extra special!  She hasn't had the opportunity to share in this from a mom's perspective.  I think she is in for a treat.  My Mom is coming and me too of course.  I will try not to cry!  It's one of those moments we've been talking about for over two years!  All of a sudden the time is almost upon us.

Many little girls dream of that special moment for a long time; when you  are walking down the aisle with your Dad and your husband -to -be is waiting for you at the altar.  Let's hope she keeps it
together better than I did!  I sobbed throughout the entire ceremony.  I remember Father Sperry
whispering to me, " It's okay.  You are going to be alright!  Just repeat after me. . ."  Rob probably thought I was going to make a mad dash off the altar and head for the nearest door!  Ohhh the memories!  My cousin Katie, who was in our wedding party, was fighting with a bee that was after her bouquet! She was only 12 years old and  flew all the way from California to Erie PA with a stewardess looking after her in order to be a part of our day.  We have always had a special bond.   Soon we will be reminiscing of Danielle's day we have anxiously been planning for.

This month we will attend Mrs. Vukovic's shower and my family's shower.  We also have a dinner at the end of the month with her bridesmaids. She is not into the Bachelorette parties or Stag and Drags like many choose to have in this area of the planet.  I must say, she's got a little of me in her.  I was the same way.   I NEVER drank until I was sick.  Heck, I even made it through three different types of chemo treatments over the past five years and did not have to visit the porcelain God.  No thanks.  That does not sound fun to me at all.

Living room and their 3 pieces of furniture!

Meanwhile, Danielle and Rob have been working away on her and Corey's house.  It is really starting to look nice.  All they need are the typical things we all use in our homes!  They are true newlyweds. They don't even have silverware, pots and pans or plates!  Corey has been busy preparing to take his Boards the week before the wedding.  He was emergency certified and hired at Nova Care recently.  He is either working or studying.  He does not have a lot of time to work on the house now that we are six weeks away from his test.  So Danielle has been having her Dad help her out.  They were weeding and tearing up a few dead bushes yesterday.  Today Corey joined them and took a much needed break.  They were mulching and planting flowers.  Rob really enjoyed meeting the neighbors with Danielle yesterday.  The one gentleman across the street from them (who walks his cat I might add) came over to introduce himself.  He thought Rob was her husband!!!!  Let me tell you,  neighbor, I think you made Rob's year.  He was so tickled by the compliment, he was sure to tell us all about it as soon as they dropped off a huge pile of tree limbs and leaves to burn at our house.

I'm glad I wasn't there.  He might have thought I was the grandmother!  Painting and pulling out dead bushes is not my kind of thing.  I will wait until it is move in day.  Then I can help organize drawers and get things packed away for them.  I was pleasantly surprised Rob has been able to do so much to help out at their house.  He has been having some back problems and was literally on his back for a few weeks.  Hopefully it continues to heal and he doesn't reinjure it as he is doing manual work.  

Meanwhile, I will continue to try to hold down the fort around here.  I have my own weeding and cleaning to do right now!  We  have six adults living in this house.  Corey has all of his books and notes spread out on the kitchen table.  Then the kids drop off mail, lunch boxes, water bottles, etc. . . as well.  It's a wreck!  

The boys perception of working full time is quite funny.  Andrew is working about 70 hours a week.  So he is unable to even put his clothes in a neat pile!  I went downstairs to throw a load of laundry in and it looks like his hamper exploded all over my floor!  

burn pile #1

                                                                                              

I will post a few more pictures of Danielle and Corey's house as they  have been slowly painting and decorating.  They were talking about TV's.  Men!  Corey wants a 60" television.  Rob and I gently reminded them that it would be nice to have something to sleep in as well such as a bed!   Or how about a kitchen table and some chairs?!  Priorities!  

Zach has been working 3-11 and then the past few days 7-3. He doesn't even have weekends off.  He will have a Tuesday and a Thursday off.  It changes each week.  On his days' off, he enjoys working some hours with Erik, too.   Zach is also having trouble doing anything other than work.  I had to threaten to throw kitty litter droppings in his bed in order to get him do his job and change it!  It's quite comical when they're all of a sudden thrown into the real working world!  No one can function or do anything other than go to work!  What do they think Rob and I have been doing the past 27 years?!  A reality check has been granted!  What really cracks me up are the text messages I get such as:  What's for dinner?  They'll always be my boys!  I apologize ahead of time to their future wives.  I did not mean to spoil them and they know how to do a lot of things.  However, they feel it is always better when Mom does it for them.  <3

Then, as I mentioned, Andrew is home from college for a bit and likes to tell us he doesn't live here anymore.  Apparently he believes he is a house guest.    Really?!   Last time I noticed, he was eating our food, showering, and sleeping in the basement!  So where does he live?! Welcome back from college!  Oh to be almost 23 again. . .

These pillows are sooo Danielle!

Front windows of house taped up ready for paint.

Bathroom # 1 Moustaches and Lips

Mrs. VandeMerwe sent a cute mat with their name on it

Other view where open window is

It has really been fun so far watching them choose things for their house and turn it into their own place.  Combining both of their tastes and sticking to Corey's "strict" budget, according to Danielle, is going to be tough.  How will she live without her Starbucks visits whenever she feels like it?!  I told her that it will become a "treat" again rather than something you just expect every day.  

I hope you have all gotten outside to enjoy the beautiful weather.  I was sucking up some of that sunshine again today.  I didn't realize how much I missed that over the past five years.  It feels wonderful!  I hope you get a lot accomplished as I plan to.  These past two weeks I was taking three and four hour naps after work.  That did not leave much time to get anything accomplished, so I have some catching up to do this week.  With not having to work, I think it will make a difference for me.  I will have a little more time to exercise, get things done around here, prepare for all the festivities, and even squeeze in a nap when I  need to.  Enjoy the week!  I will let you know how the shower goes next week.