Take Me Out to the Ball GAME!!

Baseball, to me, is still the national pastime because it is a summer game. I feel that almost all Americans are summer people, that summer is what they think of when they think of their childhood. I think it stirs up an incredible emotion within people.

~Steve Busby, in Washington Post, 8 July 1974

After many years of not playing ball, my 22 year old son dusted off his baseball glove and is playing on a summer league. Believe you me, this mama, didn't realize how much she missed watching her boy play ball, until she was sitting in the stands. 

Can I share a story from last evenings game?

 It happened so quickly, yet it was so precious to this mama's heart. 

As my son was on his way to his position in outfield, he hesitated for just a moment and took a quick glance to make sure I was sitting in the stands.  (Just like he did when he was in little league.)

I tell ya...my heart just melted right there...

and I felt so blessed to be alive!!

I am so filled with gratitude to God and His gift of healing. 

The joy of being a mom in the stands, cheering on her boy...

 "Come on B, hit a homer!"

Relearning the Dance Steps!

I remember the day my oldest daughter said to me, "Mom, you no longer have cancer--so, your caring bridge needs to go...if you want to write, start a blog."  I had to look up the definition of blog as I had no idea what a blog was or how to do it.  Slowly, I found my way into bloggersville.  I found myself in love with this new community.  I found joy and encouragement.  Thus began my life after cancer...

At first blogging was so easy.  It was fun and enjoyable to write about every day happenings in the life of a cancer survivor.  Then, I began to look at writing a bit more seriously...attending a few conferences, subscribing to many writing blogs, reading about writing, belonging to a critique group.  All these have been great and wonderful things, however, as I learned more, I began to realize how ill prepared and uneducated I am (in the field of writing.)  I started worrying about dangling participles and action verbs vs passive verbs.  I found myself asking the question, is someone cringing at my lack of proper grammer? The worry...the lack of time...the lack of learning...

The quest for doing it right...had me heading back to the pit of...


Because I had been learning about building a platform and that you need to give your readers something concrete, I started blogging on Time2Live Tuesday and Walking with Wellness Wednesday.  But we all know that my ability to keep on task was limited at best.  While I enjoy doing these blog posts, I missed the authentic and real connection with those of you who read this blog.  When I was in Montana last month, I spent much time praying and pondering, asking myself some tough questions:

Why do I blog?
Should I keep blogging?
Do I have the time to blog?
What is my purpose of blogging?
Does blogging really matter?

I can't really say I have the answers for all my questions, but this is what I am hearing so far:

YES to blogging....I love it...I love the community!  I miss it...and I am going to try and make more time for it! (And I am going to accept that it is better to write and fail, than not write at all!)

YET...it is time to change it up a bit, especially as I don't like the direction my blog has taken.  I am not a scheduled person.  (So writing only two days a week on a focus topic isn't exactly what I am good at...) I want to write about the unique steps that I am taking as a survivor, hoping that my steps will provide hope and encouragement to others on this journey.  I want to be authentic!  I want to share with others how God is working in and through my life. 

So, thank you dear blog readers for dancing the steps to this new dance with me...let the adventures begin!

Celebration Day!

Before I begin on my pondering thoughts on life, I want to share with you another special day that happened last week.

A special friend of mine, who also happens to be a cancer survivor, shared with me that she wanted to write her name on the survivor wall at the cancer institute where we both received our treatment. I thought it was a great idea and we invited two of our other friends to join us. 

Since I am 3 1/2 years out from hearing those life changing words, "You have cancer," I didn't think that signing this wall would really be that big of a deal.  Boy, was I wrong.  On the drive over to the cancer center, my mind was going crazy.  To be honest, the only reason I showed up to the signing was I didn't want to disappoint these wonderful women.  I tell ya, one wouldn't think that it would be hard to sign your name...but it was...what if I sign my name and "it" comes back?  Am I jinxing "it?" Am I really a survivor?  It was like looking cancer in the face and saying "I did it!!"  Over and over I kept saying these words, "Cancer,You may have taken part of my life....BUT you are not my life!! Kim you can do it!" So, once again, I said a prayer and with God's help faced my fears--joining up with my friends to sign the wall.

OH, I am so glad I didn't give in to my fears and miss this event! 

What a special day, with such special women! 

Together---we faced the wall!

Individually--we signed our names!!

Together--we are a special group of survivors--supporting, loving and caring for each other and those who join us the journey no one wants to walk. 

A great big "I LOVE YOU!!" and special "THANK YOU!!" to my beautiful sisters in Christ!

Happy Birthday!!

Last week I celebrated my birthday! Now, before cancer, birthdays were just  a marker for me....one more year of my life done!  After cancer....no way....birthdays are a celebration!!  One more year of blessings!!  This year is a special year...I am celebrating year

 

A great big THANK YOU to all who made my day a special one!

Oh, where do I start?  The last few months I have been struggling with life after cancer. 

 For me life after cancer is all about learning a new dance.  Struggling to create the steps that will make my life a beautiful work of art.  I have spent time praying and pondering, often asking myself the question "Who am I?" and "What do I want?"  Finding myself frustrated with lack of time, energy and wisdom.   

That is until my birthday...my birthday prayer was the God would give me a word...anything to help me, as I felt like I was heading into a pit.  My birthday was on last Thursday, and Friday, I was prompted to pick up a book that I have had sitting on my TBR (to be read) pile for awhile. 

Wow!!  God gave me a beautiful and perfect gift!!

This next week, I will be sharing my thoughts on what I am learning, how it is impacting my life, and my pondering on the future of this blog, my writing, etc. 

American Cancer Society Choose You

For this week's "Walking With Wellness Wednesday," I thought I would share with you a program sponsored by the American Cancer Society. 

Program description from their website:

"The American Cancer Society Choose You movement encourages women to put their own health first in the fight against cancer. And it shines a light on a hidden issue: one in three women will get cancer in her lifetime. However, we can change those odds by making healthy lifestyle choices such as maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise, not smoking, and getting regular health checks.


In the constant struggle between family, work, and self, we know how difficult it is to focus on you. To help change this, the Choose You program provides the tools and support women need to commit to and achieve their personal health and wellness goals. Research shows that 73% of Choose You commitments are successful, and the program provides the support needed to help you eat right, get active, quit smoking, schedule regular health checks or take care of your skin."

For more information on the Choose You program, here is the link: Choose You

Starting over...

The last four weeks I have either been traveling for work, or staying with my daughter and her family in Montana.  With all this travel, I fell off the track.

So, today when my boss asked us if we wanted to exercise on our lunch hour.  I was a little less than enthused. I tried the "It is so beautiful, maybe we should walk outside." Thinking to myself, "I know if we go to gym to exercise, my muscles will be hurting tomorrow.  Well, my boss replied, "You can walk if you would like, but I am ready for a serious work out."  My thoughts, "Really??"  Anyways, this is where peer pressure is a good thing. 

We compromised.

We did a "boot camp" workout at Sertoma Park and the beautiful Outdoor Campus.  The weather was absolutely beautiful. 

The whole time I was sweating and panting, I was thinking about this blog.  How perfect that today was Wellness Wednesday and I was experiencing a work out that didn't include a gym. 

We did sprints from tree to tree.

We did push ups.

We did crunches and abs. 

We did triceps dips.

We did stretching and tested our challenged our fear of heights.

So, once again, I am making another "first" step attempt to get back on the physical activity train.  Hmmm...wonder how far I will get this time??

Question:  Do you ever find yourself getting derailed on your walk to wellness?  Care to share any tips on how you stay on track??

Time2Live Tuesday

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start,

anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending!

Carl Bard

Challenge for this week:  What is one thing you can change in your life that would bring a brand new ending?