Count Your Many Blessings Name Them One by One

I am truly blessed in so many ways. I have an amazingly supportive family, friends and church family. I truly could not be making it through this journey in my life without them. Each day I seem to learn more and more what a blessing people in my life are.


Just in the past two weeks here are the blessings I've received. The day before Father's Day my precious neighbor from across the street Jennifer came over about 7pm to cut my grass. Her husband came later to weed eat. He didn't know she was going to do this. She was cutting my yard until after 8pm in the dark and she did a fabulous job. Then they left me a beautiful fern that I have beside my door to remind me of their kindness every day.

Then on Father's Day I was able to take my sweet Daddy out to lunch and actually pay the bill! Now I had to talk to the waitress who had to sneak me the bill so he wouldn't pay for it but I paid. How crazy is it for a dad to pay for his own Father's Day lunch but so many do because they won't let anyone else pay for it. That afternoon I took my daily nap (which helps me have energy for the whole day) and while I was asleep I was pinestrawed! I had no idea some sweet friends were working in my yard on that hot afternoon. Until I left that evening to go meet friends for dinner I had no clue they were so quiet. I was backing out of my yard and stopped the car and cried. My yard looked so beautiful. I had lamented about the fact I couldn't really keep up with yard work because of my illness. On Father's Day my friend Jenny and her mother and father, Glenda and Richard, came over in the heat and beautified my yard. Doesn't it look wonderful? Freshly cut grass and new pine straw. I was overwhelmed. Jenny then bought my dinner that evening as if she hadn't done enough already that day.

Doesn't my car look great!

But the blessings didn't end there! I get a card and scripture 3x5 card every single week from sweet Beth Green. I was also able to walk each evening and went longer and farther than I have since before my surgery and chemo started. Walking is good for me to help build up my strength and stamina but I'm also training to do the Montgomery Half Marathon, a goal of mine. This past Friday I arrived to work early and thought as I got out of my car that I really needed to wash and clean out my car. Sometimes I pick and choose what I do because I know if I use up a lot of energy I have to rest more. I didn't say anything to anyone about that. About thirty minutes later my friend Bud comes in to his office. He comes back to mine to ask me if he could take my car and wash and detail it himself (he used to work at his father's gas station and car wash) while I saw clients. My mouth just dropped. He had no idea that's what I was thinking as I came into the office. He took my car and completely cleaned it up even shining up the tires while I saw clients yesterday (Friday). That hot day and he took his time to bless me. He said he'd heard about my yard and was just trying to think of something he could do for me and this was something he could do. He even filled up my gas tank. What a blessing! My car looks great and smells great.


As if that were not enough I got to see my cousins the Nelson's who now live in Texas. My cousin Jeremy had earlier in the week sent me a wonderful message via Facebook and offered to do whatever they could to help me out. And I know whatever I asked of him if he could he would do it in a second. While visiting with them and my other cousins the Byroms and my Aunt Doris and Uncle Jim as well as my parents, my sweet six year old cousin Kaiden and her twin brother Jameson presented me with an early birthday present along with the help of cousin Carter. My cousin/sister Kim said Kaiden saw this doll advertised and Kaiden immediately asked wasn't my birthday coming up (its July 29th). Kim told her it was and Kaiden said they had to go get me this doll. When asked to wait until the next day Kaiden was clear she needed to get that for me that day so off to Toys R Us they went. It's the only place that sells them right now. She and Jameson could not wait to give it to me.

It's a Moxie girlz doll which is one of four they have out who are battling cancer and they donate $1 per doll to cancer research. How precious is this? Kaiden also got one for herself because she knows about this fight because of her Sha Sha (that's what Jameson and Kaiden call me). Can't wait to take her and show her off at treatment next week! She will also sit beside my bed to remind me of the love of this precious little girl who prays for me every night along with her brother Jameson and parents.


On Sunday I had the blessing of going to church and receiving countless hugs and inquiries about how I was doing. Those hugs, words of encouragement and prayers of my church family lift me up and help me make it through all this. The sermon was about using your time wisely. How well I understand that concept now more than ever.


My heart overflows with appreciation and amazement at the kindness and thoughtfulness of people. My cup runneth over. I share this with you only to express my limitless appreciation for the love that surrounds me every single day. It comes from people just thinking outside themselves. I have a list in my prayer journal of gifts and blessings I've received since I began this difficult journey. The list is so long it makes me cry at times in a good way. I love being a blessing to other people but I have learned so much about what that really means by people being such a blessing to me. This is only a part of what has been done for me since April 2011. It truly is overwhelming at times. Nothing that is done for me no matter how small or routine it may seem is lost on me. So many things people just do without realizing what an amazing impact they are having on me.


How often are you a blessing to others? I hope as often as you can possibly be. It is more of a blessing to you than you will realize. I love doing this so much I am actually working on a book about it. It doesn't take much to reach out and bless someone. I hope realizing the way this all warms my heart and helps me make it through the day especially the tough days will inspire you. Let it inspire you to think about how to be a blessing each day to someone in your life or someone you encounter who needs a pick me up. To those who have blessed me in my life an extra big thank you. As I said, my cup runneth over.

Ever Thought Of Being Grateful For Your Tastebuds?

Odd title for a blog post huh? I can't believe it's been so long since I wrote anything on the blog too. But here I am.

So where'd the idea for this blog come from? Well eating of course. My Mama is a fabulous cook. We joke with her that we could all be scarfing down something she made loving it all, but she will often find something not quite right about it. She is her own worst critic as far a food goes. It needs to be just right or she's not satisfied. Better for us because that means good just gets better. Many of my favorite foods are my Mama's cooking. She makes the best dressing in the universe. Her red velvet cake is just yummy. I could go on and on. Are you hungry yet :-)?

Well when cancer unwelcomely enters your life so typically does chemotherapy. With most chemotherapy a change in your taste buds occurs. It can be severe change or milder changes. Some days the thought of eating just does not compute, but you have to in order to stay strong. With my first chemotherapy medications the change was more severe. For one thing during and up to five days after I could not have anything cold or even touch anything cold without it feeling as if a thousand needles were sticking into you. Imagine a hot Alabama summer and you cannot have anything really cold or ice. It also impacted the way things tasted. Most days only certain things tasted normal. Those were fruits, vegetables, and usually cereal. Even water tasted like metal. The good thing is there were some things that tasted okay. I may have shared with you how on my first week or so of treatment the nutritionist came by. Her advice was nothing diet or low in fat, eat real butter, make milk shakes and just make yourself eat. Keeping up your strength and not dropping weight is really important particularly early in treatment. It was and still is funny to think of a nutritionist actually telling you to make milk shakes but she did.

With my new treatment medication I have no limits on ice cold things that I can have. Even ice cream is okay and it tastes pretty good though I limit it usually to days I don't feel like eating very much. I have several days particularly during and right after treatment when things do not taste good at all. That is except fruits and veggies. So my sweet Mama who has graciously taken on the job of keeping me fed (you don't want to cook for yourself when nothing looks or tastes good) always has some veggies and fruit on hand. Sometimes it is really tough like when Mama makes poppy seed chicken and it doesn't taste good. Knowing what it's supposed to taste like just makes me want it but then it doesn't taste right. I know that for everyone else eating it tastes great but for me often it doesn't. I couldn't enjoy my brother's Memorial Day BBQ because things tasted like metal.

So that led me to think about how grateful I would be if food all tasted normal again. How I long to have regular taste buds that enjoy what I eat no matter what it is. However, that is not the case so you do what you have to do. Oddly some things will taste fine and other things taste nothing like they are supposed to. Have you ever considered being thankful for your taste buds? I hope you take time at your next meal to truly stop and enjoy what you are eating in all its glorious taste but also to be thankful that you can taste it. Be thankful it tastes like it is supposed to. Just one more thing I've learned to be grateful for during all this.

The Power of Friends

Me on the Beach!

The past week I was given a great gift, a trip to the beach. Though I had to be covered up and under umbrellas it was wonderful in so many ways on so many levels. The gift was given to me by a precious friend since about fifth grade Jenny Wingard. She took good care of me. We laughed a lot and stayed up talking late into the night each night. Thankfully I had great energy and didn't need a nap each day as I typically do. I did however snooze on the beach a little bit the last day we were there. It was nice to not feel so tired and gave me a renewed drive to be a bit more active now that I'm home. Of course within reason and not during chemo. Being at the beach with Jenny which we try to do at least once a year made me feel more normal than I have since my surgery. It was just a trip like we always take with a few adjustments given my diagnosis. It was a great get away and just what I needed.

It did cause me to think about how precious friends are and how much they add to our lives. I have been blessed with great friends many of which I've had since elementary school or high school. Not many people can say that. Throughout this illness I have developed new friends and closer relationships with old friends. My parents friends have also been right there for them and for me. I've learned a lot about what friendship really means by the humbling outpouring of love and generosity of my friends during this difficult battle. Sometimes I am completely blown away with how thoughtful people are and how just when I need it a card comes in the mail or an email pops into my inbox. I'm looking at beautiful daisies sent to me that have lasted for two weeks. I have over 300 cards in my "happy box" and on tough days I pull them out and read them and just feel my heart swell as I realize how many people have taken the time to send them. The prayers going up by so many sustain me in ways I do not even have words to explain.

So often when people are going through a difficult time we can be confused about what to do or how to help. I love that many folks have just done without asking. We've had meals and snacks for the cancer center and yesterday I came home to find that my sweet neighbors had cut my grass. Sometimes all people need is someone to be there. No fancy words, no big gestures just being there means so much. It's hard when people aren't there for you. Especially those you thought would be. Often that happens not because people do not want to be there for someone but they just do not know what to do or say. Let me help with this. IT DOESN'T MATTER! Friends just need you there in their corner. No special words, no special gifts, no specific plan just being there makes all the difference. I am incredibly thankful for all those people who are there for me every single day. So make it a point sometime this week to reach out to at least one friend. They don't even have to be going through something tough like cancer.

My best friend Jenny and I at the beach

It just means a lot to have someone there cheering you on even if you aren't facing any specific battle. You may never know how much it means but your friend will!

Sharon's Snack Ministy

I have created a snack ministry at the Cancer Center and I LOVE it. This started back when my brother Gary and I realized the snacks were all donated. For more information see the snack ministry page of the blog. What people do not realize is the Cancer Center actually looses money on a regular basis because generally they turn no one away seeking treatment. So that means some folks who ultimately have no ability to pay. So buying snacks for patients isn't really something in the funding but the volunteers would purchase the snacks to give out to patients. Many just cannot afford to buy snacks in the vending machine.


So this is a thank you to all those donating snacks. It goes a long way in making a long day of treatment better. What is so incredibly funny is how excited most patients get picking through the snacks in the basket trying to find just what they want. Variety is important because sometimes you cannot eat certain things. For example, sweet things taste pretty bad to me right now but salty hits the spot. For some they can't do salty and want sweet. For some the protein in things like nuts and trail mix are important for their health. I just want you to realize what a wonderful thing it is to give the snacks. 


If you have not donated any I would encourage you to do so. They take any individually packed snack items but they cannot be home made. It will cost only a few dollars depending on what you get and where. It can be dropped off at the Cancer Center to the main building (not radiology building) where a volunteer will likely cheer for you and take the snacks to their storage area. If you can encourage others to give please do that as well. You never know how much a package of trail mix can do!