Marie's Voice... On Surviving Life and Having Joy

Hello, my friends. Two weeks have passed since I vowed to return from AWOL. Again totally frustrated with my not getting back on track, I had decided that maybe I should lay my blog aside for a while. Then yesterday when I went to Blogit intending to convey that message, I read Elyse’s warm encouragement. Thank you, Elyse, and all of you who have been an encouragement. So I remind myself that survivors never quit, we just change our ways!! Yesterday was a milestone day. I changed out my... Sign in to see full entry.

Marie went AWOL!! Totally unplanned! But now I am back and don’t plan to do anymore disappearing acts. I am continuously learning through this new blogging venture. One of the things I have realized is that I expect myself to have a somewhat complete piece before I post. So when I began spending time researching information and documents to meet my aunt’s needs after she discovered she needed surgery to remove a cancerous uterus, I found myself putting my blog on the tail end of the list. What I... Sign in to see full entry.

It is Palm Sunday and Atlanta is experiencing the calm after the storms of Friday and Saturday. Here are a few pictures from downtown Atlanta’s Friday night tornado. I’ve mentioned the arena, the stadium, and the CNN Center. Some of these pictures show the Georgia World Congress Center. It is the convention center part of the complex. http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/metro/weather/windstorm0314%20/ Cabbage Town, a downtown neighborhood which first came into existence in the late 1800’s as a... Sign in to see full entry.

Atlanta was brutally attacked Friday night by a most powerful force, the weather. If you have seen the pictures on CNN, you have a feel for the tornado’s devastation. Much of the attack was centered on the area which includes the Omni Hotel; the CNN Center; Philips Arena, a 21,000 plus seat stadium where the Atlanta Hawks were playing; the Dome, a stadium which seats almost 70,000 people; and Centennial Park which was first developed for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. The Dome was filled... Sign in to see full entry.

It has been a full day of long distance conversations and trying to help be a resource for my eighty two year old aunt in Kansas who has just discovered she has uterine cancer. My brother who lives about an hour from her will take her though the surgery process on March 24. And cousins from Michigan may be there. She is a dynamic lady who has been three times widowed and has no children. So her nieces and nephews look after her. So here’s my thought for today… A touch of color changes the... Sign in to see full entry.

Come travel along side me on my path to this New Normal I now live. This is a story not only of acquiring the feeding tube and tracheostomy. I want it to be more than that. Along the way, I experienced the highs and lows of healthcare as it is today. The advocate in me believes that we all deserve the best in healthcare, no matter what our age or condition. This is not just about me. It is about all of us mustering the courage to speak out for ourselves and for the masses of people (especially... Sign in to see full entry.

This is for all the optimists out there… and future optimists… and those who don’t yet believe that about yourselves. You can start working on it now, today, this moment. You don’t have to wait until things get perfect. That’s not going to happen. So there’s nothing to stop you. And if you don’t feel like smiling, smile anyway! Someone may smile back. That feels good! The underlying key is to have joy in the midst of any circumstance. We cannot control everything that happens, but we can make... Sign in to see full entry.

Anytime I read or hear about someone being put down by someone who doesn’t agree with them, I feel a sadness for them. It takes me back to the 1970’s and 1980’s when I was teaching. My students all had difficulty with their behavior, so our first task was to learn to respect each other and take the responsibility for our own actions. I developed some simple guidelines which became our mantra. Within our classroom, we measured everything we did against them. I’d just like to share them. Our room... Sign in to see full entry.

Yesterday as I was sitting here mulling over my rather blue demeanor and developing a blog entry, unknown to me a fire was raging two buildings down. Three homes were destroyed. I live in a condominium complex with 402 units. It was built in the 1960's and has firewalls. All the units are flats. The three units that were destroyed were in a vertical stack. Thanks to the firewalls, in a building of 24 individual homes, all but three were preserved. Some people are dealing with smoke damage. All... Sign in to see full entry.

Let’s sing in the sunshine! Spring comes early in Atlanta. Within two weeks the flowering trees will be open. Already daffodils are blooming in spite of the dip back to nearly freezing. But the effects of the long winter months that many have experienced can result in depression. Don’t let it happen to you. If you are feeling down, what can you do to make a change? Sit in the sunshine to eat your breakfast and lunch. And chase that sunshine coming through your window throughout the day. Sunshine... Sign in to see full entry.