the needle guy at Melonhead...

My journey never stops.. it moves and flows .. sometimes crazy.. sometimes slow.. and if you are lucky..lucky like me.. here and there you receive special gifts... I have received a  present.. ..  remarkable Jose... my friends The Mikes brought him to me..

The Mikes are a moving part of a wonderful thing called the Melonhead Foundation.  This is place of nurturing for families of children with cancer.. and for others that need healing..like me..  My sweet Tim and I are lucky.. we have insurance.. we make a living that has enabled us to pay for the cost of fighting cancer.. I was an adult when I was diagnosed...  not a child.. not a parent of a child that had to leave their job to cradle their babies fighting to stay alive.. not a parent of a child that did not know where the money was going to come from to pay electric bills, rent or buy gas to get to treatments.. At Melonhead they help those parents and children..They do wonderful things at Melonhead ..  including bringing me the remarkable Jose..

Jose is a needle guy.. acupuncture is a wonderful thing... a new thing for me.. and ..ok I am going to share this ... it makes me ping..

For those of you that have never pinged... it is when you feel like all of the neutrons in your body are zapping back and forth.. like a pin ball machine.. remarkable Jose walks around you...putting a needle here... a needle there..  and before you know it.. you fill balanced, relaxed and energized at the same time.. and you ping..

to the needle guy at Melonhead.. thanks

http://www.melonhead.org/   

mother's day messages...

this weekend, some friends and I visited another Relay for Life.. our local Relay had been cut short.. wind blowing tents, chairs and luminaries everywhere.. although satisfying in many ways.. many of us felt
the night was unfinished and rushed... halfway through the night we had to breakdown, pack up, give up against the wind and the dust.. so this weekend.. heading into Mother's day.. we thought to visit one more..

one of the stories told at our Relay by a young son of a survivor talked about how he and his mother visited many relays.. they always picked a name from among the white decorated glowing bags and walked a lap for that person.. the story touched me in so many ways.. we often think only of ourselves.. we are so focused on the fight that we don't take the time to pray for others.. walk for others.. so heading into Mother's day some of my team mates and I piled into a car and made our way to walk more laps..

there was no wind.. it was very calm.. and as we got there...luminaries lined the track as well as spelled out HOPE on the bleachers.. no wind.. just beautiful clear skies full of stars.. looking down on the hundreds of people..walking .. so we began to look.. to pick out the person we were going to walk for.. and we started reading.. not just names but messages.. written in crayon, magic marker..pasted flowers, heart felt words and designs...  to moms..

"I will love you forever".. "I miss you Mom"... "In memory of".. "my heart is with you"... "fight.. fight.. fight".. all messages... mother's day messages to those here and gone.. and when the candles were lit.. they glowed.. the words.. the messages.. the hope and the love.. they flowed up and out of the bags.. swirling around us.. and on to the stars.. those mother's day messages.. and we each walked a lap.. for someones mom.. and sent our own mother's day messages..

Happy Mother's Day

the purple princess

I became a purple princess...
on a recent wonderful night..

I was given a silver Tiara..
that fit on my head just right..

It had a purple stone and purple feathers too...
I think I could be a purple princess.. my whole life through..

Thank you Heather for making our survivor laps so special <3