Finding Strength

I just came back from Vancouver Canada.   Fortunately on my way back, I slept for a couple of hours.  WJJ picked me up from the airport and we enjoyed a lovely dinner out.  The next day, I did some UCW work then watched some TV and then fell asleep for nearly 3 hours.  Went to bed about 10:00 PM and slept till 6:00 AM.  I couldn’t believe how tired I was.  So I decided to look at my last six weeks and figure out why I am so exhausted.

Here goes:

• 14 Social Events - Three of which were “Black Tie”.
• Did an UndercoverWear Party ($3,000)
• Christmas
• New Year’s Eve Party which we hosted for about 70 people
• Launching of 2011 UCW Year of 1000 Stars
• Launching UCW  “Star Action Teams”
• Art Class
• Working Out
• Phone Meetings
• Grocery Shopping
• Christmas Shopping
• Jamie, Cheryl and Niccie here for 2 weeks  (Boy that 7 year old has a lot of energy)
• Fluffing and Buffing
• WJJ time
• Time with Family and Friends “who needed me”
• Trip to Vancouver for 3 days

Wow I am amazing.  Truly amazing.  No wonder I’m so tired.

But the truth of the matter is I have absolutely no desire or right to complain.  I was really no busier than anyone else.  And most importantly, the “stuff” on my plate is nothing compared to others.

Let me share with you why I traveled to Vancouver.  Unfortunately, the Mother of a dear friend of mine (and UCW Leader) passed away on Christmas Eve.  The wake and funeral were this past week.

My friend Yvonne has had a really bad  - no, horrible - 3 months.  First, her newborn grandbaby was rushed to the hospital and they were told she probably would not survive.  As Yvonne was enveloped with fear, her doctors called and said that the results of Yvonne’s CAT scan were in.  She had two aneurisms that had to be operated on immediately.  All the while, her Mother was in the hospital getting worse by the day.  Through the grace of God, Haley survived and is doing well (I met her last week) and Yvonne got through the operation with flying colors.

 Then, her Mother passed away on December 24^th.   The tribute to Anna (Yvonne’s Mother) was inspirational.  She had fostered 75 children her lifetime.  She and her husband Burt had adopted 14 of them.  While Yvonne and her bother Michael were “natural” children, Anna and Burt never differentiated.  The woman was amazing.  And it showed with the immense number of people that filled the church at her funeral Mass.

The last six weeks were not really great for many of those people close to my heart.

I choose not to go into detail, but suffice it to say there have continued to be “life and death situations” continually.    And while I hope I have offered comfort and words of wisdom, I cannot feel as they do.  They are the ones that must endure. 

Friedrich Nietzsche a German Philosopher, said something to the effect of, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”  While that is not particularly encouraging, sometimes it’s true.

But I’d like to get back to Yvonne again.  She’s had a rough time.  But let me share with you what my Mother said as she was going through her last battle with Cancer.

“Girls, if anything happens to me I know you’ll be sad.”  But I absolutely do not want you three to sit there and cry hysterically at my wake or funeral.”  I didn’t raise whiny, wussy daughters.   I have had a wonderful life.  And if it’s my time to go so be it.  As long as I go before my children and they go before their children then we are blessed.   That, my dear Daughters, is the Circle of Life.”

It’s too bad some of you never met my Mother.  She was quite remarkable.

You would have really liked her. 

And so each day, we proceed and hopefully enjoy some laughter and some fun.

And when we encounter the days of sadness, we should actually embrace our good fortune.   A tear is simply a reminder of the love we feel in our hearts.

So with that, I think I’ll go have a vodka martini!  Cheers!