Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thanksgiving Day...



Living and dealing with AlS has been extremely difficult but has opened up many opportunities for us to be thankful

One of the best lines inside the essay is "Terry will not let the disease (ALS) define his life," wow...what a powerful statement. How easy is it to ask the question "Why me?" If we do that then in fact the disease will win and that is not an option.

What we really need to do is be able to love ourselves, and once we do that, we will be able to move from the state of mind, "I and me," to "us and we." Doing this allows us to strip back the ugliness of this disease uncovering the beauty inside.

During this journey I have been blessed by probing deeper into conversation, touching lives, and sharing stories with so many different people, reaching a more intimate level with them then you can imagine.

Let's take these words and think about how blessed we all are, for everything big and small, let's tell those people we care about we love them and give them a hug. Always remember those moments and memories that make us smile - hoping you had a great Thanksgiving Day.
Peace Love
T

Monday, November 23, 2009

There is meaning...

Essay written by a senior in high school Emily Ross

I am a member of a large, tightly knit community. This community has been my support system from the moment I was born and has created a sort of bubble around me, in essence protecting me from all the harsher realities of life. Because of this, in my world of ups and downs, the downs have been relatively few. This shield has unfortunately allowed me to take each day as something that I was entitled to, instead of the gift that it is. One day last year, my perfect bubble was burst when I found out that a father of 2 in our community, a close friend of our family, was diagnosed with ALS, better know as Lou Gehrig's Disease. In my mind, when you get sick, you go to the doctor, you get medicine, and you get better. With ALS, there is no 'getting better'. You deal with it, your body deteriorates, and you die. No amount of praying was going to make this better.
I did not know how to react when this happened, so I looked to Terry's family to see how they were handling it. Expecting to see sadness and despair, I was shocked to see that there was no pity there. This man had decided that ALS was not going to define him. ALS would not decide how he lived out his remaining days. So he set out to 'live like he was dying'. He began to do things that he had always wanted to do, like scuba diving in Mexico, and watching the sun set on top of the Olympic Mountains. And as his body began to fail, he pared down his to-do list to experiences that required nothing more than his presence. Every single day that he wakes up is a gift. He is only 51 years old, and he has done more living in the past 17 months than most people do in their entire lives.
Here is a person who was fully alive and healthy, and in one hour his life became finite - the average live expectancy after diagnosis of ALS is 12 months. His reaction and decision to do it on his terms has inspired me to not take every day for granted and to live my life to the fullest. He had planned on a long life with his family, but that's not any of ours to decide. Tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone, so we have to live out today like it's our last because in all reality, it could be.
Terry has shown me that when life hands you adversity, you have a choice how to handle it. You can let the disease take over and decide how it's going to play out. You can give up and hide in your house and wait for the inevitable end. Or you can take it and run with it. He knows that he's dying, but he refuses to live the label. His eyes are earnest, intense, as if hanging on your every word to commit it to memory. He listens intently, asks pointed, serious questions, almost like he MUST know how you feel. Like he's always wondered, but now he needs answers. I honestly believe that when he is put in bed at night, he is exhausted emotionally as well, for there have been no insignificant interactions that day, only meaningful ones that are meant to help us heal when he is gone. He has given everything he has to make that day a special one. He cherishes the time, every single minute, because sadly his minutes are numbered.
This tragic illness has also benefited our community exponentially. We have learned what it is to truly give comfort to another human being and accept life's difficult times and move forward with them. We, as a community of faith, have rallied around this family, providing food, companionship, laughter, and much, much love. We have had the opportunity to experience it first hand along with him. We have learned compassion, patience, and how to deal with things out of our control with dignity and grace. It is an opportunity for us all to practice what we preach. And we are comforted to know that when his struggle is over, he will be in God's hands and free of this awful disease that has taken so much from him, yet given so much to us.
I consider myself fortunate to have had this man pass through my life. Just living life gets in the way and it's so easy to take your life for granted - your family, your friends, your time, every breath you take. I have been blessed to see first hand that it's not the amount of time you have, it's how you use that time. He has shown me to never waste a second or a chance to tell someone how much they meant to you, because well, you just never know.

To Emily,
Your words express wisdom beyond your years. In my journey there have been good days and bad days but to receive your letter allows me to solidfy my journey. In our lives we get to make decisions and if my journey can help in some small way, that allows me to understand - there is meaning...

Peace Love
T

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Cookie Crumb Fairy...

It's raining outside, no it's pouring outside...
The wind is blowing it's just a mess...
Clock says it's the afternoon...
The clouds say it's dark and gray...


But wait... can it be...


Oven door opens...
Fresh smell of cookies fill all the rooms...
Warm cookie, plays with the taste buds on the tongue...
A smile, a laugh...


The cookie crumb fairy has arrived...



On a tough day, looking for a diversion, Pam makes chocolate chip cookies mmmm...

Guess we all know who the "cookie crumb fairy" is...


Peace Love T

Friday, November 6, 2009

Time goes on...

The sun rises - the sun sets...

Raindrops puddle on the ground...

Wind dances with the trees...

Snow glistens on the mountain tops...

The flower peeks his head from the dark soil...

Singing birds break the silence of the morning dew...

Hot sand on your feet as you run to the fresh water...

Sweet smell of the honeysuckle permeates the air...

A picture, a moment, a memory...

Laughing, inspirational, tears...

Vibrant red, yellow, orange turn the leaves...

Time goes on...

Peace/Love

T

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Story Telling...

For the past few months there has been many of our family and friends stopping by telling many "lies" no really I mean stories. What happens though is everything gets bigger, faster, or messier just doesn't matter...



"never let the truth get in the way of a good story."


Peace love T