GOBBLE GOBBLE 2019

Dear friends,
In keeping with sending unconditional love round the world, please pass a healthy portion of my best wishes to enjoy a happy, hearty, peaceful turkey day to everyone you love who resides within the USA and beyond while my family creates our feast while chanting—Mom, we got this—sit down, relax and enjoy!

So here I am, sitting, relaxing and enjoying my family while wishing that all of us around the world could celebrate this holiday of Thanksgiving, together—patiently, peaceably and conscientiously by forgiving all transgressions perpetrated back and forth in the distant past ...
Ready—Set—Gobble Gobble!😊

If asked why my spirit awakens, each day, with sound reason to feel deeply blessed, most especially throughout this week-long event of giving thanks, most especially for family and close friends, my innermost smile would surely reply—there goes that font thing, challenging my patience by changing in size—Just kidding.  Now that font discrepancies fall under the heading of ‘small stuff’, my heightened level of patience remains intact, so having straightened our thinking caps (which, if you ask me, proves in need of doing much more often than you might believe) let’s refocus upon absorbing my real reply—It’s been my good fortune, every morning, to enjoy a trio of munchkins tiptoeing into our room where, upon climbing into bed between Gramma and Papa, my heart rejoices to see a giggly sense of mischief dancing in three lively pairs of eyes.  Yesterday, while I was resting, this dynamic trio could be seen sprawling at the foot of my king-sized bed taking turns describing each one's daring adventure through Out Of Africa where wild animals, such as lions, tigers and bears, roaming freely, were thoroughly enjoyed while Papa and Gramma were at the hospital, testing the strength of my kidney function’s capacity to withstand the first five-day, in-patient infusion of intensive chemo therapy, which will be administered, next week, through the port that is to be inserted within my chest on Friday morning while our three sons occupy our precious grandchildren, who plan to be leaping joyously from here to there throughout the indoor trampoline park not far from our house (as precipitation, which is predicted, will not rain on our parade), and now, so as not to stray too far ahead of our family’s mutual enjoyment of the luscious Thanksgiving feast, prepared for fifteen of our nearest and dearest primarily by Marie (flanked by Will and our three sons), suffice to say that every dish will be eagerly devoured by tall and small, followed by Ravi’s second sleepover, making this week-long family fun-fest feel even more special to two brothers and their cousin, whose love for each other proves happily palpable each time they're together.  And as today’s deeply reflective musings fly over so much that has been planned to be enjoyed, tomorrow and beyond (Ravi's fifth birthday party is hoping for sun on Saturday), I'm about to turn insight’s spotlight toward highlighting yet another family value as our clan grows ever more conscientiously aware of need for adults to consistently role model our children’s ever more mindful absorption of the concept of giving with generosity of spirit intact as, in keeping with our family’s annual tradition, on Friday, each grandchild will choose a toy at Target before heading over to our local fire station where Toys for Tots are collected, and once we're standing, face to face with the bravery of firemen, our family's heartfelt spirit of giving (rather than focusing solely upon receiving) will be further enhanced when our precious crop of children are encouraged to nourish their fledgling sense of generosity of spirit by surprising our courageous fire fighters with a yummy chocolate cake upon which this thoughtful sentiment is soon to be sealed and delivered:

Thank you for keeping us safe throughout the year.

And with today's musings clearly stated, let's raise our glasses while lifting our voices to wish each other a happy, healthy, deeply thankful L'Chaim!

IF AT EVERY STAGE OF LIFE WE CAN EXPECT A PERSON WE LOVE TO BULLY US DURING TIMES FRAUGHT WITH CONFLICT THEN HOW CAN A LOVE MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN SWITCH TRACKS FROM UCONSCIOUSLY FOLLOWING A NEGATIVELY FOCUSED SPIRIT STRAIGHT INTO HELL?

 As my last post (expressing concern over the lasting effects of parental bullying) proved to be the beginning of an insight-driven train of thought that my power of intuition feels need to complete, I'll begin today’s post by copying and pasting my last post directly below this introduction, thus creating a sense of continuity that will feel as clear to you as is true for me, so with thoughts of diving into the deep end of my mind where we’ll swim around until we catch sight of an insight-laden sense of clarity that’s ready to surface, let’s take a moment to straighten our thinking caps —Ready!  Set!  Go!

Just as our processors are susceptible to anxiety testing our patience when we have no clue as to why abnormal cellular material has invaded healthy body tissue, creating dis/ease that disturbs the natural progression of our personal lives, I have no clue as to why the natural cadence of a post may be disrupted by an abrupt change in font size, which, due to my limited knowledge concerning the complex functionality of my computer, mystifies my processor as is also true when autocorrect maddeningly changes my word choice to something that makes no sense.  Take yesterday’s post for example when none of my best efforts to repair a font’s lapse in conformity did anything other than tax my patience, so rather than viewing myself as ‘the boss’ of my post’s font size, I chose to switch my attitude from impatience to acceptance concerning the fact that my computer’s hard drive had chosen to ignore my well behaved pleas in similar fashion to the fact that anyone who attempts to boss a child’s independent spirit to comply with parental pleas (which transform into impatient commands) is naturally fated to fail unless the child’s inexperienced mind has been brow-beaten to such a relentless degree by an authority figure whose bullying attitudes prove so single-minded as to lambast the youngster’s self image until, eventually, the independent nature of his/her spirit feels broken by a threatening barrage of battering, which makes so little sense as to shatter a young person's natural connection to clarity of thought as happened to the main character in the movie SHINE played brilliantly by Geoffrey Rush.

Wikipedia:
SHINE is a 1996 Australian biographical drama film based on the life of pianist David Helfgott, who
Suffered a mental breakdown (under the battered tutelage of his father) and spent years in institutions.

I still shudder when reflecting over the scene in which David’s father, a holocaust survivor, is seen
beating his child (a gifted pianist) for not playing a highly complex composition with perfection while
Declaring:  No one will ever love you as much as I do.

 Nothing messes with the human brain’s natural development of
Mental clarity as does a mixed message that proves as madly confounding as that.

Emotional battering cripples the development of clarity within
The human mind just as sticks and stones can break our bones

If love is synonymous with ‘giving the best of yourself’ most
Especially during life’s most trying times when
Two loving spirits have need to work hand in hand toward embracing
A conscientious awareness of placing power struggling attitudes in
Time out so as to refocus both minds toward reinforcing
Your connection [and mine] to a host of inner strengths with which
Our thought processors ascend toward heightened levels of
Lucidity with intelligence and patience intact then
The opposite of a loving spirit is one that has absorbed only one way
To feel secure whenever conflict resolution is necessary, and that way
Suggests calling forth a bullying attitude that stomps down so hard on
Your loving spirit (which is single-mindedly focused upon
Maintaining the peaceful co-existence of your family’s
Emotional environment) as if blasting out with an icy tone of
Voice so as to release fiery bolts of insulting intonations meant to
Blindside your most loving vulnerabilities, empowers
A bully to usurp a stance of mind-control over
A loved one's generosity of spirit until such time as
A last straw goes one of two ways—
Either your spirit’s inner strengths will stand up in
Calm, lucid defiance of absorbing even one more lash of
Undeserved guilt or eventually, your strength of spirit will
Quietly crash into the deep dark pit of emotional despair where
Your host of inner strengths may appear vanquished for
Quite some time until reality nudges your thought processor of
Readiness to become ever more attentive to a slow-mo awakening of
An insight-driven deeper truth that spotlights your
Personal need to make sound use of your smart heart to
Speak aloud with such a consistent, self assertive, calm and
Patient voice as to rally everyone who cares to reflect over
This timeless fact of life:  as opposites attract, every
Stout-hearted, open-minded, supportive spirit is bound to connect with
A defensive person's wall of denial, from time to time, and
With that thought in mind,  your spirit  (as is true of mine) has been
Quietly gaining in strength, little by little; however, as long as
Your spirit continues to cave (so as to dodge greater doses of
The bully's belittling tongue lashings) your power of intuition will
Not arise to whisper these words of wisdom into your ear:
Every strong spirit will crash into walls of denial, from
Time to time.  Sometimes the wall of denial will belong to
Another, and sometimes the wall of denial will be our own until
At some point down the road, a day will dawn when adults (who
Know they can depend upon a strong support system, based in
Unconditional love) will no longer cower blindly behind
A tremulous smile that frees a defensive personality (inexperienced in
The art of compassion-based, solution-seeking communication skills) to
Ratchet up bullying techniques, which, thus far, have won the driver's seat by
Throwing tantrums as would the irrational mind of
An undisciplined child whenever conflict-resolution begins to
Take place with a logically minded adult, and though yesterday
That scenario may have caused your spirit's inner strengths to crash but
Not burn so that, like The Phoenix, your spirit rises from the ashes feeling
Empowered to approach a bullying attitude, anew that's not true when
An adult with a bullying attitude lashes out at the vulnerability of
A child’s inexperienced thought processor, which is why
Our precious youth have need of a lovingly protective
Adult support system focused proactively upon making sound use of
Each person's emotional maturity whenever clarity suggests that
A positively focused intervention proves necessary to
Counteract the negatively focused put downs that bully a child, whose
Kind-hearted mind has not yet developed a conscious comprehension of 
Intuition's inner need to 'fight' to retain his/her fledgling sense of
Self respect crashes and burns so often that, sadly, another
Youthful spirit is broken as seen when a young head, hanging down, begins to
Unconsciously repress rebellion deep inside in favor of conforming to serve
The bully’s need for dominance over all—Not on my watch! declares
Your intuitive voice, which resides deep within your mind (and
Mine) where inner strengths (feeling compelled to
Voice your personal convictions) begin to connect so consistently with
Courage as to envision our think tanks taking one bold leap of faith after
Another to ensure that we, who make up an innocent child’s support system, remain
Unafraid to give voice to personal perceptions guaranteed to rock the boat that's
Been heading straight toward a rocky coastline, directly ahead, unless
And intelligent sense of creativity designs a life raft, which, being primed not
To sink guides our intuitive powers to draw forth a voice that's grown in
Maturity in hopes of rebalancing each relationship that showcases one side
Working consistently toward garnering personal strengths so as to
Relieve insecurities, left unresolved during our childhood, from building
Defensive walls around our hearts where power plays for dominance feel
Need to lash out with put downs that insult every kindhearted reaction
Verbalized by this smart heart or that one, which,  having come to
Understand the classic nature of negatively focused mind games that
Break families apart refuse to engage with tantrums, and once tantrums have
No opponents, who react to insults, flung around, mind games begin to
Switch tracks, so that healing on all sides can truly begin 

And thus do we come to see why fledgling spirits of children, like David
The gifted pianist, have need of adults, whose
Spirits have grown so emotionally mature as to speak up
Protectively and thus pro-actively until such time as
The inexperienced thought processors of our young can
No longer be blindly brow beaten into cowering submissively to
Adult 'authority' figures, who have gained no conscious clue of
How often they attempt to put down a peace loving
Extended family, whose inner strengths refuse to
Follow the negative side of human nature straight into hell, because
Deeper truth suggests that true leadership grows ever more aware of
Everyone’s need to stand together in unison guided by
The postulate of divided we fail to achieve long range goals, united
We prioritize hard won familial strengths, which provide our youth with
A yellow brick road upon which we all take leaps of faith toward
Gently guiding a bully in such firm but loving ways as to
Choose to switch tracks away from future attempts to
Defy a family’s host of well-developed inner strengths
And if you ask how I know this theory to be true
100% of the time—well of course that's not true; however
Achieving perfection at anything directly opposed to the aim of
Today's insight driven, intuitive train of thought being that
Today's thoughts are aimed not at ''knowing' but at 'feeling' inspired by
Past experiences in which loving kindness offered food for thought concerning
The brain's capacity to develop a heartfelt sense of courage, which
Eventually draws forth a hidden stash of humility from within
A homegrown bully's  growing sense of self , and though
The strength of humility may be secreted away within
The recesses of a bully's subconscious, today, eventually
Kindness extended may draw forth a deep seated longing to
Feel embraced by those, who adhere to this timeless belief system:
Love that continues to grow spiritually enhanced strengthens during
Life’s trying times, repeatedly, unless one person (who sees him/herself as
A victim) is practiced in only one way of carving out a personal path, which
Proves so negatively focused and complex as to lead every
Think tank in the family, which attempts to remain connected to
Clarity, straight down into hell even though the victim-turned- bully
Had once been rewarded by fate to fall in love with a gifted leader, whose
Loving spirit has been empowered to grow toward adulthood by
Withstanding every negatively focused bolt of insult cast blindly at
His/her tender hearted disposition until this love relationship, made in heaven
Gets to feeling so damaged (because today's bully knows no other
Path other than the one that follows in the footprints of
A long line of bullies, all of whom see themselves as victims), until
That last straw feels compelled to choose one of three paths—
The well trodden path that leads toward divorce court
The well trodden path upon which an entire family remains
Trapped within a conundrum that grows ever more confoundingly complex
Or the road less taken ala Walt Whitman
And thus have we highlighted the fact that every love relationship, made in heaven
Will eventually fail, miserably, if neither person removes a blindfold so as to
See why a couple who fell in love are bound to arrive in hell unless
Both, who make up a couplehood that's been sadly in the process of breaking down
Choose to work together in earnest toward admitting that all people have
Two sides, which proves necessary if a love affair made in heaven is to
Repair from the ground up while holding hands with an innocent, inexperienced child, who
Is literally standing between them, looking up to positively focused leadership to manifest
Character traits, which we hope the child will mimic and absorb as her/his own, most
Especially when life's trying times challenge every person's mental awarenesses to
Deepen, little by little, day by day, until insight reveals bigger pictures, which show us
Heartfelt reasons to take leaps of faith away from socially engrained limitations such as
If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all? toward giving voice to reveal
Your authentic self while remembering that everyone has vulnerable feelings, which
False pride closes off from public view
And as Edith Ann, rockin’ away on 'Laugh In' during
The turbulent sixties, would say right before sticking
Her tongue out—That’s the truth—Ththththt!

UPPING MY LEVEL OF PATIENCE TO ACCEPT THAT WHICH I CANNOT UNDERSTAND OR CHANGE FOR THE BETTER SO AS TO MAINTAIN PEACE OF MIND

Just as we’re susceptible to anxiety testing our patience when we have no clue as to why abnormal cellular material, invading healthy body tissue, creates dis/ease, which disturbs the natural progression of our personal lives, I rarely have a clue as to why the natural cadence of a post is disrupted by an abrupt change in font size, which, due to my limited knowledge concerning the complex functionality of my computer, cannot convince autocorrect to cooperate with my best efforts to repair a font’s lapse in conformity as exemplified within yesterday’s post when all of my patience, directing creativity to create change for the better so as to publish a train of thought, which was compliant with my being ‘the boss’ was ignored by my computer’s hard drive in similar fashion to the fact that anyone who attempts to boss a child’s independent spirit around is fated to fail unless the child in question is brow-beaten to such a relentless degree by an authority figure whose bullying attitude proves so harsh as to lambast the youngster’s self image until the independent nature of his/her spirit feels so broken by a constant barrage of battering chatter that makes so little sense as to shatter clarity of mind, ala the main character in the movie SHINE played brilliantly by Geoffrey Rush.

Wikipedia:
SHINE is a 1996 Australian biographical drama film based on the life of pianist David Helfgott, who
Suffered a mental breakdown (under the battered tutelage of his father) and spent years in institutions.

I’ll never forget the scene in which David’s father, a holocaust survivor, is seen
Physically beating his child (a gifted pianist) for not playing
A highly complex composition with perfection while declaring::
No one will ever love you as much as I do.

Nothing messes with the human brain’s natural development of
Mental clarity as does a mIxed message as confounding as that.

PATIENCE—A YOUNGER FRIEND PARENTS A THREE YEAR OLD ...

 In answer to a question asked of me recently by the father of a fully spirited three year old child, today’s insight-laden train of thought concerning his current level of patience flowed so clearly onto my screen as if my memory, resembling a mountain stream rushing downhill, had suddenly released a waterfall of words, which, upon splashing forward, was empowered, midair, to reassemble themselves into the voice of experience, washing a barrage of self demeaning misperceptions right out of his head ...

As you shall see, this affable adult had been one of several rambunctious boys, who’d spent most of his developmental years enjoying sleepovers with my three sons while the whole kit and caboodle of kids (whose number increased as Barry, Steve and David grew toward manhood), had been reflecting over my tool box of positively focused parenting techniques, which he'd observed during childhood (I’d had no clue as to how many children had marveled at my patience until several, who are currently parenting children of their own, chose to open up to me as did this loving father, last week.)

Below you'll find my reply to his email (though he’d lived in Europe for quite some time, currently, his home is a two hour drive from mine) in which his frustration concerning his low level of patience with his beloved daughter's age-appropriate antics was revealed, and, upon reading that John believed his level of patience could not hold a candle to mine, I chuckled, knowing how quickly my reply would light the wick on the candle in his mind, which has unknowingly awaited the mere flick of the match that will brighten his thoughts, which, having cast dark shadows over his self conceived perception of himself as his darling daughter’s brand new (inexperienced) father, have been in need of welcoming a positively focused sense of recalibration (Quelle surprise! :)

Since I know full well that mustering parental patience proves to be a universal challenge, my reply began with—Think of it this way, John—working toward heightening your current level of patience is like working toward lifting weights in tolerable increments.  We start out at a low level, and upon becoming aware of need to up our game, we set the bar slightly higher, day by day, until we come to realize that while disciplining the independent spirit of a beloved child, we are also charged with disciplining ourselves, and here is the good news:  We have plenty of time to achieve success with both tasks being that, generally speaking, we have 18 years to create a disciple of each deeply loved child by role modeling the same positively focused attitudes, reactions, voice tones, word choices and behaviors that we hope to inspire our young to develop (mimic)—little by little.

At some point, a parent who has worked toward mastering heightened levels of patience so as to continue to discipline youngsters with generosity of spirit, becomes aware of need to offer up the look of love, emanating naturally from within one’s own heart, while verbally engaging with a misbehaving child, eye to eye, so that your little one,  feeling deeply loved at all times, will eventually grow to feel less naturally defiant, more sensibly cooperative, for this reason:  Each time we remember to keep our young children’s feelings in the forefront of our minds so as to hold insulting retorts at bay, they, feeling less and less defensive, grow ever more apt to listen to what we feel need to say with an open mind, and when it's the child's turn to reply, his/her emotional reactiveness, becoming less, testy, will offer a response that makes sense rather than prolonging a tantrum that ends up in time out, and that's most especially true during those years when adults have need to tune into the fact that while raising pre-teens, whose independent spirits are naturally as rebellious as was true at the age of two (when a child's processor, advancing through one of the first natural stages of child development, will be likely to continue to tantrum if he or she is subjected to watching parental reactiveness fail to tame the adult version of 'tantrumming' back by flinging negatively focused threats directly at the child, thus inflaming defensive attitudes on both sides to continue to erupt each time a conflict raises its ornery little head—unless the adult leads the way toward conscientiously working toward retraining both brains to listen with a heightening connection to patience so as to answer a child's right to feel respected with love, logic and clarity intact ...

Reflection suggests that with love, logic and patience intact, my think tank rustled up so much good old fashioned humor as to encourage the young minds of my trio of rambunctious sons to fall into line, once they'd absorbed the fact that each logical consequence, which popped out of my mouth, was meted with such consistency and proved so out of the ordinary as to be considered both fair and just (as well as, often times, being so funny as to border upon the ridiculous), which is why, more often than not, my sons processors didn’t know whether to remain defiant or burst out laughing, and every time laughter, which is contagious, conjoined our hearts, defensive attitudes on both sides disintegrated into thin air so naturally that positively focused attitudes felt sound reason to bloom during moments when solution seeking proved necessary if we were to continue to exist peaceably under one roof, and as a result of feeling curiously amused and mutually respected, spirits lightened up so quickly, all around, that eventually, solutions were successfully negotiated each time my sons chose to listen openly to sound reasoning, emanating from my heart so lovingly, as to reconsider the validity of adult oriented values, which, had been offered up for discussion without being force fed,  and as, over time, we'd carved out this path, together, the compassionate minds of two generations had worked ever more cooperatively to narrow the gap, which classically separates the decision-making process of experienced elders from the thoughts of youngsters, which being naturally egocentric, had little clue of the fact that each time we passed the solution-seeking talking stick around the table (rather than hitting our teens with consequences that young minds naturally defy), our conversational discussions continued to close in upon universal need to prioritize that which we tend to call 'family values', which, from one generation to the next, are always in some state of flux.

In short, rather than forcing my sons to follow my lead, I disciplined my head to remain so calm as to conjure up consequences that proved so creative (yet based in logic) as to be instructive rather than punitive in nature—and as years passed in which all of our brains had been calmly trained to continue to practice self discipline in order to refrain from bellowing out negatively focused thoughts, tempers on both sides were tamed by developing levels of patience, which empowered our think tanks to rise above and beyond the natural eruption of temper tantrums most especially during trying times when conflict resolution relies upon heightened levels of patience, which focuses everyone's processors toward seeking solutions in a lucid, loving, mutually respectful manner as is likely to prove true of our immediate family, today, and with thoughts focused upon brainstorming toward logic based solutions aimed at creating change for the better, all around, the role of leadership has become ever more fluid and dynamic rather than remaining melodramatically static ...

I believe the first rule of thumb to raising children creatively rather than autocratically is to become aware of inner need to up your patience level incrementally so that eventually, your talking and listening skills, during moments of conflict, improve so dramatically that you come to see yourself as the boss of your temper, because you’re fooling yourself if you believe you're the boss of your child's temperament being that way deep down inside every active mind, no one is the boss of another person’s independent spirit, and once that deeper truth has been thoroughly absorbed into a parent’s mind, that’s when conflict resolution begins to lead away from defensive or passive aggressive reactiveness so as to create an emotional environment in home after home that feels so well balanced, safe and sound and FUN (and funny) that everyone, no matter their stage of life, feels free to cherish time spent with those who have worked transparently to identify and challenge their narrow mindsets to expand, thus inspiring others to work through differences peaceably much more often than not.  And, having served up this nourishing slice of child-raising knowledge, which my curiosity hungered to seek out and digest, over my lifetime, with you, I feel happy to know how openly (rather than defensively) you await my striking the match, which passes the candle of 'spiritual lightness of being' to you, Barry, Steven and, one day, to David with one cautionary suggestion—

Please place your lightsabers aside lest your little ones start swinging them around indiscriminately before their think tanks have matured to comprehend the self-empowering potential that exists within every brain to communicate so logically during moments fraught with conflict that word weaponry feels utterly unnecessary (even when it's flung menacingly at me), and the earlier we refrain from flinging insulting misperceptions around, the earlier your offspring, having begun to absorb tidbits of knowledge passed forward from the minds of sages who came before you and me, will begin to feel self inspired to understand how best to motivate the next generation to comply with clearly expressed family rules, little by little, while everyone’s heart, working in tandem toward offering up every person’s best efforts to grow toward adulthood while prioritizing the values of high principled leaders, who openly model their pursuit of self improvement, happiness and justice for all....

If you’ll send me your home address, I’d like to send you a book that was my bible when Barry was two years old.

The title of this wealth of knowledge is CHILDREN THE CHALLENGE, penned by Rudolph Dreikurs, father of positive discipline, whose disciple was Alfred Adler.

As always, everyone in our family loves you, as we have ever since you and Barry were elephants walking in a ring during your kindergarten circus when you were not much older than your precious daughter proves to be, right now.

Once I’m well, we’ll get together for sure.  I’m eager to enjoy a playdate with Beatrice and Steven’s daughter, Ravi, who will be five, this month.

Sending lots of love to all three of you,

💕🌈🌻Annie

WITH PATIENCE INTACT MY SIGHTS REMAIN SET TOWARD HEALING—UPDATE #3

No way am I planning to miss out on Thanksgiving as proved true of Halloween!  And now that the assertive nature of my current attitude (attitudes are known to shift) has been clearly stated, I hope you’re picturing my spirit smiling with appreciation for all of your best wishes, which pave my way toward healing, day after day, based in your heartfelt generosity, which buoys Will's spirit and mine as naturally as a series of gentle breezes lifts a kite.

Today, David flies home after having spent the past week on the coast, where he enjoyed two meetings with production companies, both proving highly interested in a pitch that he and his comedy writing partner were invited to present, and as one of those production companies is headed by Conan O’Brian (while another pitch to Seth Rogen’s production company is scheduled after Thanksgiving), good news, such as that, giddies my spirit with hope—I mean, receiving invitations to pitch to such heavy hitters is a feather in his cap.

Upon reflecting over the mainstay of my parenting experience, memory spotlights Barry, Steven and David taking turns inspiring Will’s spirit and mine to soar on the wings of love, which transport our family, again and again, toward hoping for the best no matter how often fate challenges each of us to stretch toward achieving another long range goal, while we five, acting as one, choose to stand up and position our inner strengths to inch another rubber tree forward with this caveat—rather than Antman coming to mind, my musings see our sons as busy bees, honeying their father’s life and mine, today, as hopefully, we’d honeyed theirs during those fleeting years in which we’d laughed, together—while downing chocolate chip pancakes round our kitchen table with their friends who'd slept over, weekend after weekend—at youthful antics, which, over the long run, proved harmless as three rambunctious little boys developed into the trio of men whom we continue to admire and adore for countless reasons, today.  And though all three may be rolling their eyes as if to say—Mom, give it a rest—my heartfelt smile attests to the fact that today’s recollections, being freely expressed, reflect no more than the truth, which pleasures my spirit at a time when I’m consciously savoring every memory that saves my inner strengths from any possibility of drooping, no matter what today’s sobering reality offers us to consider with clarity intact.  BTW, having mentioned 'sobering', have I shared this next thought with you?  Upon being advised that I'd have a port, I expressed a proactive stance, advising the radiology oncologist that I've designed a port, which, along with infusing chemo, accommodates vodka, straight up, and with a chuckle, he assured me of seriously considering my request.

Last Monday, I underwent an early morning cardiac mri that took longer than 1 and 1/2 hours of holding my breath (not all at once, of course) for many seconds, repeatedly.  Why?  Because, just as with any MRI, I had need to stay perfectly still, which proves impossible when pictures are taken of our hearts, which never stop pumping oxygen throughout every nook, cranny and crevice of our bodies, and though I was given earmuffs, so much pounding assaulted my ears for an hour and a half that I, feeling a bit light headed upon being helped to my feet, looked forward to enjoying a quiet, peaceful day, except for a brief time when Will and I drove to Steven’s to meet Ravi’s brand new puppy—an eight week old Rhodesian Ridgeback (born of a breed originally bred to hunt lions), suggesting that this adorable puppy will grow to be pony size within the next few months.  And watching Ravi and Netfliks (Being not quite five, Ravi named her newest playmate with the humorous acceptance of her parents’ attitude, as two youngsters, both cavorting like puppies, began to fall in love with each other so naturally as to stimulate my spirit to sing to the tune of—younger than springtime am I, when with you ...

Night after night, one couple after another, offer to bring dinner, and though my appetite is nil, the men who I adore, are eager to dig in, and in addition to enjoying the soothing presence of extended family and friends, I indulge in a glass of my favorite wine, which offers just enough effervescence to tickle my spirit—because as long as my spirit remains strongly focused upon the upside of life, the downside of engaging in a game of Red Rover has no chance in hell of dominating any portion of my conscious mind ... in short, each time a downhearted thought so much as arises, positivity clicks a switch inside my head that change tracks AFAIHP (as fast as is humanly possible.) and that's the truth.

The next day after Netflik’s homecoming was spent at the hospital, where I was positioned within a soft body mask which, having been shaped over and around my chest, created a hardened mold, which will prevent any body movement at all while each beam of radiation is specifically directed to target four tiny dots tattooed strategically upon my upper body thus aiming my daily absorption of radiation so precisely as to preserve the good health of tissue unaffected, as of yet, by this tumor, whose hunger we plan to zap ASAP (followed by chemo, also scheduled to commence right before Thanksgiving week when all of our kids, big and small, plan to fly in to celebrate so much that we each feel thankful for, most especially, our positively focused love for and supportive friendships with one another, and since my grandsons are growing so fast, I just ordered new NFL licensed sleeping bags each rendering their favorite teams, so they can curl up each night in our well appointed guest room at the foot of Marie and Barry’s bed, dreaming of cuddling—whoops, I mean huddling with their favorite players on the field while holding tight to new pillow pets illustrating their team mascots, because I remain aware of the fact that our youngest weekend warriors, garbed in team pj's, are still vulnerable boys at heart. 😊

Hopefully, Ravi, not having transformed into an avid  sports fan, as of yet, will continue to adore her princess sleeping bag, shaped to resemble Belle, ala Beauty and the Beast.  And needless to say, a new pillow pet will be hers to snuggle with during sleep overs, as well.

As for me, I feel like a blue eyed, brunette, seventy five year old lass, who has tumbled down the rabbit’s hole, because just as Alice made her way through one confounding experience after another, I plan to do the same while focusing my mind and spirit upon landing on silver linings, reflecting my daily decision to turn my face toward the sunny side of life, where healing is bound to take place based in my vision of my extended family’s positively focused strength of will being infused within the port, as well, and if that imaginative vision makes a cock-eyed optimist of me then what time in my life could be more appropriate for my brain to envision all of us circling round, hand in hand, steadying the stance of my mind's eye, than right now? 😍

As I'm fully aware of so much love flowing freely, hopefully you can feel me sending bunches of heartfelt feelings into cyberspace in hopes that your arms, opening wide, will catch and absorb so much of my chosen attitude that you, too, have a horn of plenty to pass forward as our holiday season spreads good will to one and all, throughout a world so magical that one day, a loving connection concerning mind control will have tamed greed so that each of us, peopling the rainbow that is sure to encircle the globe, will believe in Peter Pan, Wendy, Tinkerbell and the lost boys inspiring Captain Hook and his merry crew to assemble under Mary Poppin’s umbrella, which upon lift off, will fill our ears with this unlikely choir belting out—a spoonful of sugar and spice and everything nice makes humility arise, etc. etc., etc ... are you listening Donald Duck?  I mean trump?

Annie ❤️😘🌈🌻