Thankful Thursday

Many of you who follow this blog will know Jaz of Treacy Travels .  Jaz hasn't been blogging for a while but posts of Facebook.  For those of you who don't follow Facebook  but would like to know how things are going Jaz has just had the results of her latest scans and there has been no tumour growth now for 9 months!  How absolutely fantastic is that?  I am over the moon.

Jaz is, of course, the person who was the instigator of and original inspiration for the Thankful Thursday posts.

So today merits a second Thankful Thursday post.  If it wasn't for the fact that I would have to drink the whole bottle myself I would be toasting you with fizz, Jaz.  As it is I shall toast your health at 5pm with a large glass of sav.   Go well.

Thankful Thursday

For Jaz who is an inspiration, thank you. Jaz, your post Dear Tumour was one of the bravest, most positive things I can imagine.  When I was given similar news years ago I, too, decided that being positive was the only answer.  I trust that when I am long gone having died in ripe old age (I love cheese comparisons) you will look back at this time and remember that  You can if you think you can If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you like to win, but you think you can't,
It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will.
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But soon or late the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.
~ C. W. Longenecker ~

Carpe Diem

Sieze the day.  It is always easier to say than to achieve.  But saying it is a good start.

In a way each of the sayings in my sidebar under the title 'Life' relate to that concept.  It's a concept that when you have a life-threatening illness you either embrace or you don't.  There's not really room for a half-way house approach.

Perhaps Lisa (Shabby Girl) said it most prosaically with "Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass… It’s about learning to dance in the rain."

Today I've been feeling bogged down and if I hadn't already posted the previous post I'd have been too ashamed to do it after reading today's post by Jaz.  It's worth a read at Turning a Corner.  Here's part of it:

In the past I have catastrophized and turned my fears into big ugly mountains in front of me. But I've been thinking about that. Fears aren't real. Sure they can be based on some startling true facts eg I HAVE A BRAIN TUMOUR, but essentially our fears are our imaginations going for a walk.

So I've stopped walking my fears so often and taking myself out for fresh air instead. Lately I seem to be able to enjoy today and not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will come and then it will be today. I've got no control over it, just how I perceive and receive it.

I'm strangely calm about my MRI I just had. I'm still awaiting results and I refuse to waste precious time on irrational fears. If they tell me I'm dying, then I'll scream and cry, but not today, not NOW.

 Go Jaz.  May your NOW last for a very long time.

Thankful Thursday

It's good to see Jaz back on Facebook.  I'm thankful that she and Mark and the girls are settling into their new home.  I hope that Jaz continues improving and that their lives settle down and are full of Good Things.

On a more mundane level I'm off to Northland in an hour or so for a long weekend exploring.  Doubtless I'll be writing all about it.

At the moment here the wind is near enough gale force but it's not raining and the temperature is nearly 30℃ (86℉).  Rain is forecast for the next 3 or 4 days just about everywhere and especially Northland.  Ah well.

I'm sure that I'll be thankful to be there - just perhaps a little less thankful than if the sun was shining!

Thankful Thursday

Today I started this morning thinking about the very simple things of life starting with driving with the roof down soaking up the the warmth of the sun. 

By the time I came to write this post this evening so much has happened during the day and yet, at the same time, so little has happened.

A few days ago my right eye (the only one I can see out of properly) started giving me some trouble.  A visit to the Doc determined that there was nothing in it and no visible sign whatsoever of anything untoward.  She prescribed an anaesthetic eye drop.  It's still giving me trouble but not so serious as to impair my vision.  My eye just feels as though it has a boulder in it.  

That made me think of my brother, CJ, of Jaz and of Friend Whom I'd Trust With My Life and all their much more serious vision problems.  It's made me think just how very precious our eyes are.

So today I am very thankful for something so many of us take for granted, our eyesight.

More than that I hope beyond hope that CJ and Jaz's sight improves quickly and that Sue never has to go through more operations.

Thankful Thursday

I was woken at 2am this morning by a phone call from the UK.  Phone calls in the middle of the night rarely bring good news and this was no exception.  The call was from the friend whom I've mentioned before who, in January, was given three months to live.  He was alone.  Needless to say I didn't sleep much after that.

I had to be out at 7.45 for the tournament that's on this week in which we (Mike from Gisborne who's staying with me, and I are playing) so this morning I had no time for the Thankful Thursday posting and this evening it was nearly 9pm by the time we finished dinner.

Looking back on the day I could have been very thankful for nearly 8 hours play on the lawns in the beautiful warm sun.  Even more so because I won all my games.  But somehow I hadn't got the heart after the way I felt this morning.  My good feelings seemed outweighed by the personal tragedy on the other side of the world.

To be honest the horrors of Japan and the Middle East are so awful they don't even enter into the equation because they are not personal enough any more.  Christchurch is closer to home but even that isn't personal enough although after reading Fiona's latest post Frustrations and Changes - Looking for Silver Linings I did rather selfishly thing thankful thoughts that I wasn't there.

So I almost didn't do a Thankful Thursday.

Then a wonderful thing happened.  I looked at the blog postings today and Jaz, who started Thankful Thursday, had posted.  And suddenly I felt thankful; really, truly, wonderfully thankful.

If you can read her Thankful Thursday and not be moved then you are made of harder stuff than I am.

Thankful Thursday

It's actually just after 0600 Friday.  I forgot yesterday was Thursday until I was just getting into bed and  I wasn't inclined to switch the computer on again.   As I lay down I wondered just what this week had brought which could possibly make anyone here in New Zealand thankful about anything.  After a night broken by nightmares and cramp I woke finally earlier than I'd intended and realised that there are still so many things about which I (and, after all, this blog is my view of life) should be thankful.  The first, and most insignificant, of these is that such broken nights and cramps are fairly rare for me.  I have friends who rarely get a good night's sleep for a multitude of reasons.

I'm thankful that Jaz will soon be coming home.

I'm sad beyond words for what is happening in Christchurch but even in that situation one has to be thankful that we live in a country which can cope with such a disaster and be thankful for the huge amount of help which has arrived from around the world. 

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for the progress that Jaz has made this week.

I am thankful, too, for the opportunities I've been given so far this week to try new things and see new places and meet new friends. 

Thankful Thursday

This Thursday I found it hard to continue with the Thankful Thursday post which was started by Jaz of Treacy Travels.  Jaz lies in a hospital bed after an attempt to remove a brain tumour did not go to plan.  I have not felt particularly thankful this week if I am honest.

However I think that to give up on the posts would be to deny the positive attitude that Jaz brings to life.  So I shall continue to post Thankful Thursdays until Jaz is back in harness and doing them again herself.

As it happens the next post was done last week and pre-posted - something I rarely do.