Living a Blessed Life

April 8, 2024, marked a significant event in our lives. As a family, we traveled to Arkansas to experience a total solar eclipse! This event was special for many reasons, of which I will share a few. According to eclipse2024.org , “(There are) none in North America until August 23, 2044 . This one is a nice “Prairie” eclipse, coming down from Arctic Canada into North Dakota. But then, the one so many people will have been waiting for: A beautiful summertime eclipse that goes over quite a few big cities, as well as a certain theme park in Central ...

What if I had done this differently? What if I hadn’t ignored the signs? What if I had passed on that decision and waited a little longer? What if I would have arrived a few minutes earlier / later? What if I took that leap instead of staying where I am? What if I left? What if I trusted my intuition instead of doing what the rest of the world said was right for me? What if, what if, what if? There are more what-ifs in our lives than I care to bore you with. This question plagues us and tries desperately to rob us of our joy, especially when the decision we are making feels significant. We are so good at playing out scenarios in our minds with different outcomes based on different decisions, and then if we think the outcome would have been better we beat ourselves up internally for making what appears to be the wrong decision. (Or am I the only one who does this)? We all know that hindsight is 20/20, and that is great because it helps shape our future decisions. But… I encourage you...

Whether you enjoy college basketball or not, I think there are many areas in our lives where the term, “March Madness” applies. Personally, I love college basketball. Some people believe the Monday after the Super Bowl should be a national holiday so we can all sleep in after the late night watching football. I, on the other hand, prefer that we have this same benefit during March Madness. Full disclosure - I did turn our TVs at work to the different network stations broadcasting games yesterday. We had a slow day at the clinic so I was able to take in quite a few games, flipping the channel as games got close. My bracket is not perfect but is pretty well intact at this point. I love a good upset, so I do have a few underdogs in my team selection. For those who follow this fun basketball tournament, what happened to Kentucky???? That was one I did not expect! Toby made his first ever basket during a game - and it was a 3!!! (Proud Mom moment) March has hi...

Happy March! Today marks the start of National Colon Cancer Awareness Month. The first Friday in March is designated Dress in Blue Day to bring awareness. You better believe I am wearing one of my many blue Colon Cancer Alliance tee shirts today, and I will continue wearing blue throughout March. March is the month I was diagnosed with Stage IIIa colon cancer in 2020, and can you believe that March is the also the month I was diagnosed with Stage IV Metastatic colon cancer in 2022? What?!?!? It feels like a juxtaposition in my mind, processing the grief, anxiety, and trauma, while also celebrating this month in an effort to raise awareness and promote screening. In my own little corner of my own little world it feels like these events align for a significant purpose. In the real world it doesn’t hold nearly the same weight or emotional tie. If only I could sit with each one of you face to face, look into your eyes and compassionately encourage you to get screened for the highly tr...