I want to be sure to draw your attention to the fact that i said; “I got my feelings hurt”. Nobody did that to me, I let it happen. I do take full responsibility for ALL of my actions with regards to this incident, AND after a time many of my blogging friends did come to my defense, but for me the damage was done. It just wasn’t fun anymore, so I walked. That’s what I do. Life, quite literally is too short (trust me on this one) to fuss and fight over silly things.
ANYWHO... here we are over three years later, the world has gone completely mad and I find that I have some things that I want to say. Of course, it will also involve music, not surprised are you!
For this first post I’m going to cheat and just copy and paste a post I made earlier today. It will bring you up to date on what’s been going on in my life and give you some idea of where I’m heading on down the road. I don’t know how regular my posting will be, but I do know I will have time on my hands (about twelve extra hours per week) so hopefully I will be around at least weekly, maybe more. I don’t know if any of you will find me, but I still need to get some of these thoughts out into the universe.
So...here you go. My first post in over three years.
On Sunday a friend of mine posted that today is National Cancer Survivors Day. People were commenting who had survived cancer and for how long. I posted that I was a cancer survivor of 19 years. That shocked me, I remember when I was first diagnosed and I had to face my own mortality.
Cancer treatment was hell, but here I am nineteen years later knowing for a fact that i have had an extraordinary life. NOW, i face the next phase of survival. Today I begin my journey with dialysis. Cancer and the treatment has in part wrecked my kidneys and they can no longer support my life, so i must depend on machinery for that.
I have resisted this for a few years now and my doctors have been both disgusted and amazed that I have made it this long, but alas, I’m at the point where it is necessary or I will die. I thought I was ready to die. I thought I didn’t want to live dependent upon machinery, but I’ve seen that my family is not ready to let me go, or maybe that is a convenient excuse for my not really being ready to go, either way TODAY I begin a new journey. It starts with blood tests, then they will map my fistula (the site used for dialysis) and the dialysis should begin either on Friday or Monday.
It’s a hard thing to tell your family and friends and maybe this is the cowards way of doing it, but now you all know. I’m not looking for sympathy (well, maybe a little empathy). I will continue to live an extraordinary life up until the moment I take my last breath. I do not want to spend the last few hours, days, weeks, months, or years of my life dying, but living.
If you feel the need to eulogize me in your mind, please try to keep it to yourself; for my sake and that of my family. If you want to pray for me, I will always appreciate that, but most importantly i want you to know that i have tried to love people (not always successfully), for that is the answer to a truly extraordinary life - deep, genuine, unconditional love. That same love that my Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ have expressed for me.
Now, lets get on with the business of living and living extraordinarily!
I would say that you have an extraordinary life. Jesus will welcome you with open arms.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry that you felt the need to step away - and thrilled that you are back.
ReplyDeleteSigh on the need for dialysis - and a big hooray that it is available.
And here's to a LIFE rather than an existence. Life costs more, hurst more - and is worth immeasurably more.
What Susan said!
ReplyDeleteIt is good to hear from you. I have no idea what happened or who it was, so I'll claim ignorance. Sorry someone went ballistic on you.
Dialysis isn't fun, but if you and your family get a little more time together, then it's worth it.
Girl, it's so nice to see you here again. I've missed you!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about dialysis. Sending prayers your way. <3 <3
Wow! This is indeed a surprise! I've often wondered about you and it's good to see you back. To some degree I have an idea where you are coming from. A lot of my blogging disillusionment came about that same time you describe.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I observed, the divide among bloggers came at the same time an increasing divide came upon our nation. During that period around latter 2016 and into 2017 I even had a couple of bloggers start an anti-Arlee blog a in an attempt to get other bloggers to shun me. That blog wasn't very successful in getting comments, but still I think certain bloggers shared their sentiments. The aura of the blogging area started to seem less friendly, more divisive. It saddened and discouraged me so I pulled back on what I was saying on my site to mostly just do the BOTB posts.
I do hope you continue to blog again. And I wish you the best in a quest for wellness and wholeness physically, mentally, and spiritually. We live in very very strange almost absurd times. Bob Dylan's line "get out of the new world if you can't lend a hand--the times they are a-changing" keeps ringing in my head. I'm sad in a way for my kids and grandkids. I hate to think of becoming "irrelevant" in a sense, but sometimes I think I'm becoming an anachronism in today's crazy illogical world.
Oh Jesus I'm ready to be taken up and I think the end time is very near. The times don't seem to be changing in any direction of which I would think are good.
But til that time let's keep blogging and try to live our lives as best we can. I'd just prefer to live happily and comfortably as long as I can. Life is extraordinary if we open our eyes and minds to realize it. Gotta keep plodding onward best we can and try not to get dragged forward and eventually just squashed like something deemed meaningless.
I'll look forward to your next post.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out