MONDAY MOTIVATION - Each Day is a NEW Day

I'd like to share the following quote with you:

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love the idea that each new day is a NEW day - that we don't need to worry about mistakes or bad decisions, from the previous day. That day is over. Today is a new opportunity to make good choices, and do important things. When I think about this in relation to our cancer journeys, I wonder what lessons we can learn?

Yesterday might have been a difficult day - maybe you were angry once again that you have to deal with cancer. Maybe you just didn't want to talk to anyone, so you didn't answer the phone. Maybe you slept the whole day, because you just didn't have the strength of body or mind to get out of bed. And maybe at the end of yesterday, you felt awful for whatever reason. I've been right there experiencing each of these things, and others.

Today you can start over...

There is nothing wrong with being angry - it's one of the steps of grief. But, maybe today, instead of being angry, you can try to find just one blessing you have been blessed with - just ONE. Once you've found one blessing - acknowledge it. Try to find the joy in that blessing. And be grateful - gratitude is so important.

There is nothing wrong with not wanting to talk to people. Sometimes you just need to go one full day without trying to explain your illness to people. But, maybe today you could decide to take just one or two calls. Try to realize that most people who call are simply worried, and want to help. Let them. It will not only help you - it will bless them as well.

There is nothing wrong with staying in bed all day - I've done it more than once! There are days when you just simply need the rest. It's restorative. Today, try to get up and make a small plan... decide to eat something that will make you stronger, even if it's just something small... step outside and smell those wonderful smells of flowers, grass, sun... do a SMALL household chore - just to prove to yourself you can - do a small batch of laundry, or wash a few dishes, you'll feel a sense of accomplishment, and you'll feel better knowing that you are NOT helpless.

No matter what you did yesterday, today is a NEW day. If you tried to stay busy yesterday, today rest - take care of yourself. If you made dinner yesterday, today let someone else do it. I think that focusing on each day as a separate day - with new possibilities - is good for us. And, if nothing else, work on your acceptance and attitude. Again, there is nothing wrong with going through the steps of grief, including denial, anger, etc. But, I've found that it's so much easier to try to be happy - much easier to put a smile on my face than a frown.

Martha Washington said about attitude: "I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances."

Make today a NEW day - be happy, feel better, and know that there are people thinking about you and praying for you. Have a GREAT day!

-Kara

MONDAY MOTIVATION - Chocolates

I was looking for a good quote to post here today. I looked up quotes on happiness, and that naturally led me to quotes on chocolates. (What? You don't see how that could happen??!) And then this quote popped up...

"Life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get." Forrest Gump in "Forrest Gump" (1994)

That got me thinking - about life's ups and downs (not to mention, chocolate), and I decided that it's true - you never know what life will bring. Think about a big box of chocolates:



The first thing you do (if you're like me), is eat all of the square shaped pieces. Because, those are the chocolate covered caramels - and there is NOTHING better than that. Of course, in life, you pick out all the greatest, funnest, coolest things - first kiss, marriage, ideal job, babies, opera - you get the idea!



Next, you try to NOT pick out those pieces that are round, and kind of big - because you know that you'll bite into a chocolate-covered cherry. Yuck! Life has those too - job loss, death, disease, unhappiness.

So, you search and search through the remaining pieces, looking for something that might have a yummy surprise inside - sometimes you pick out a winner, and sometime, you get one that is just a variation on the chocolate cherry. But, does that stop you from trying again? Well.... NO! And, even those pieces that aren't that great still have chocolate on the outside, right?! So, there is something good there.

So, search through your box of chocolates - partake of the good stuff, and even a few of the not-so-good, share, and share more, and ENJOY your life! Even the chocolate-covered cherry parts.



(Since this is a breast cancer blog - I'd better mention the "In Moderation" part of chocolate. You girls know what I mean, right? Oh, and dark chocolate is healthier than milk chocolate. There - I feel better.)

OK, I need some chocolate!

MONDAY MEMOIRS - Cherry Red with Sparkles

Lately, I've been extremely stressed. There are several reasons that I won't go into here, but the bottom line is I'm STRESSED. I was like this before my cancer diagnosis and I promised myself I wouldn't get to this point again. So, last Saturday - while visiting St. George (the warmer part of Utah) and waiting for my husband to participate in a bike trip (60 miles), I went to a spa. (Isn't that a nice word? Spaaaaaaa.) I walked in and asked for a pedicure. I picked out a color for my toes that would make me happy - cherry red with sparkles. I sat in a really comfy chair that gave me a massage. And while the girl worked on my feet (soak, buff, trim, mask, massage, wax, and polish), I read my all time favorite blogs on my Nook. It was pure heaven! And for 45 minutes, I wasn't stressed at all. I loved every second of it. And look at my toes! Well, I would show you, but I can't find my camera card, so use your imagination - imagine a 1966 cherry red Ford Mustang convertible, with sparkles. That's what my toes look like. Doesn't the thought of that color just make you happy?!

All of Rick's friends had to see my toes after the bike ride - I got claps and whistles. Yes!

What do you do when you feel stressed about life? Is there something that helps to relieve that stress? Get your cancer journal out - and make a list of things that you can do when nothing else works to get rid of stress. Try something outrageous. Or expensive. You, my friend, are worth it!

-Kara

MONDAY MEMOIRS - What Made You Happy?

The Cancer Journey is often a journey fraught with pain, sickness, unhappiness, uncertainty, fear, etc. Today, let's focus on something different...

In your cancer journey - what made you happy? Nature, Compassion, Exercise, Rest, Family... what?

THURSDAY THOUGHTS - How Busy is TOO Busy?

I'm combining yesterday's Wordless Wednesday post with this one today, because I was just too darn busy to post anything yesterday. In fact, that's the subject of today's Thursday Thoughts...

Three years ago, I was a person who went about 150 miles an hour - I never rested, I said "yes" to everything, I was constantly busy. So much so, that my family and friends had started to bug me about slowing down. And then I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Cancer has a way of throwing up "Caution" signs, and "Stop" signs. And I did... STOP! I stopped working, cleaning, cooking, etc. And I started to focus on taking care of myself. Oh, it wasn't easy, believe me. Before cancer, Kara (me) too a backseat to EVERYTHING else. I felt kind of guilty, but I had to cut the stress completely out of my life so that I could focus on fighting the cancer, and healing. My husband and cute boys took over - they kept everything clean, they cooked, they took care of me. That went on for 1 1/2 years. When I started feeling better, I started doing a few things for other people. The better I felt, the more I did. And now, I find myself back in the same position I was 3 years ago. I'm so busy, I can hardly breath sometimes. Take the last 3 weeks, for instance: THIS IS ME RIGHT NOW...



Yep, this is the pink Wordless Wednesday - my hot pink cast. That's right, I had another surgery. But, did that stop me?! NO!!!! While hobbling around on this cast I've spent every spare moment helping my sister get ready for a children's charity sale - we've gone through and tagged over 2500 items! We have a non-profit charity foundation that we both run, and we just happen to be SUPER busy at the beginning of Fall and Spring. Today is the sale, and I'm stressing just a little bit because I can't help. Why? Well, today is also the day of our Sister Survivor's meeting and I'm supposed to hand out tickets to all of the wonderful women in our group tonight at the concert. Plus, I have to run around getting things ready for the Women's Expo this weekend. On top of that, I've got a sick child at home, who gets to have the wonderful experience of having a scope shoved down his throat today at the hospital! Not to mention, I work 3 days a week, and it's been mind-blowingly busy lately.

I'm not telling you this to show just how much I can do - because I know that probably most of you are exactly like me. Busy, busy, busy. My questions to you are: When do you say no? When is enough, enough? Why can't I learn to leave a little bit of time to take care of myself?!

One of our sweet Sister Survivors called and talked to me for a minute this morning, and before she hung up, she said "Thank you for everything you do. What you are doing is important". And, there's my answer right there... I do everything I'm doing because it's important. I promised myself that if and when I got better, I would spend some time helping others. It's important. Especially to me.

Yesterday, when I didn't make it home for dinner yet another night, my husband called me. In the course of our conversation, he asked me: "Why are you doing all of this?" It really made me stop and think. My first response was "It has to be done!" "If I don't do it, who will?!" When I finally shut my mouth enough to listen, he asked me again... "Why are you doing this?" And that's when it came to me - I don't do everything I do to get thanks, or feel important. I do it because it makes me happy, and I WANT to do it. I just need to carve out a little bit of time to take care of myself, and learn to budget the remaining time I have a little better.

Bottom line - I'm happy to be alive, and I'm going to make the most of it!

P.S. I get my cast off TODAY - HAPPY DAY!
-Kara