January 2012 is Gone

This is the last day of January 2012. I am freaked out by how fast time flies. When we were kids it seemed like everything took so long to happen or come to fruition - now it is frightening how fast time is flying by. What is that all about anyway? Has to be a reminder that we are all mortal and that one day one minute one instant it could all be over. Cheerful thought, eh? Well, it can be looked at from both sides. I will choose to take it as a great reminder to live each moment to the fullest. Another favorite quote and lesson from my son Cory. "Live like there's no tomorrow...love with all your heart and laugh until your spirit lights up!" Live aloha.

Re-connecting with old friends!

I was so pleasantly surprised this week when out of the blue I received an email from my son's 1st grade teacher Teresa Goethe. This was as a result of one of those six degrees of separation or small world deals because there is a class photograph in my book on page 100 where Teresa and the kids are sitting in rows. Well, someone she works with now - 30 years later recognized her while reading my book. So she approached Teresa at work with this information. Anyway, long story short - Teresa dug out some photos from that school year - photos I had never seen before...she scanned them and emailed them to me. What a treat! I cried of course and then immediately posted them on my Facebook page to share with my friends and family members who either knew him, loved him or knew of him from reading my book. If any of you out there who read this blog have pictures to share with me - please do! Aloha!

My sister Penny

So, as if my family hasn't been struck by lightning too many times already - I got a scared and scary telephone call from my sister Penny last week and it has taken me this long to digest it. She was coughing and not able to sleep so she went to the doctor for cough syrup... she ended up with X-rays, CT scan, PET scan, biopsy and massive amount of blood work. Waiting for results but am hopeful that the "mass" they are seeing in her scans is a fungal infection rather than a tumor. We should know something in a few days. Not sure why it takes so long but sitting on pins and needles sucks. Reminds of my past. Please pray for the infection. I am. Aloha.

MLK Day

Just woke up and it hit me what a sad day this really is...MLK was killed in his prime. He had so much to offer us as a society and a country and it was gone in an instant. There is the possibility that he his lessons had a stronger impact because of the way he died and the timing...I am sure his family doesn't go there but just think he was a man who put his pants on one leg at a time just like the rest of us. If he could change the world any one of us can too if we put our minds to it. I know my thoughts are rambling this morning but --- my next thought went to those jerks who create viruses just to screw with people...crash computers, etc. Just because they can and they want to feel powerful and somehow get a kick out of making others miserable. Well, if they would use their intelligence for good rather than evil deeds just think of what they could accomplish! When my grandson Keawe was six years old he came home from school having learned about MLK that day and said to me, "Puna when I grow up I want to be a good man like Dr. Martin Luther King." Love triumphs over evil! I choose the good guys. Here's to you Dr. King!

Power of Friendship

I moved from my home town a few months ago where I had quite a number of really great friends...mostly girlfriends. I miss them. It has been difficult to meet women my own age here and that is okay but it just makes me miss my female circles from Seattle more. Well, that just puts me on FB and email more often. I recently put out a FB plea for help finding someone who would help me promote OVER THE RAINBOW BRIDGE for little or no money. My dear friend Suzi Hedrick Beerman connected me via her friend Jinx to Nikki Orzel. OMG! I love this woman. I sent her a copy of my book so she could read it and maybe come up with some great ideas for how to help me. She called me this week and we talked for nearly two and a half hours! I feel like we have known each other forever. She felt the same way and has now done an email introduction of me to her circle of fabulous women friends. I hope to one day meet them all in-person but in the meantime, it has given me a real boost to have expanded my list of fabulous female friends. Friendship is so important and I cherish all of my friends male or female. Plus this week I have been in contact with Barb my dear friend from thirty years ago. Anyway, I have been spending my free time writing short stories. Barb has helped me tremendously by reading them and giving me feedback. I also heard via email or cell from Heather, cousin Gail, sister Penny, cousin Sue and so many others via Facebook. I love you all!

The Last Day of 2011

I don't know about you but 2011 seemed to fly right on by me... It was an eventfilled year from my viewpoint with highs and lows. Of course the breast cancer was definitely a low and my youngest getting her heart stomped on by a guy she thought was wonderful another low but my eldest daughter giving birth to an angel child is right at the top of the highs! Also, moving to be near the grandsons --especially since it is paradise here a definite HIGH. So, that my friends is life... ups and downs. The other important part of acknowledging that life is a roller coaster ride is in facing down your fears and upsets, looking for the lesson or the good in the situation - hopefully there is at least a tiny bit to see and feel. That said, I am stilled really ticked off at the jerk that hurt my baby girl and given the chance I would smack at least ten or twelve inches off of his giant ego but the civilized part of me has to say, "he did her a favor because clearly he wasn't right for her and she would have come in second to his basketball, which would not have worked in the long run." This is me trying to be forgiving. hah. Anyway, have a safe New Year's Eve tonight...drive defensively and soberly. Much aloha, and let's all cheer for the onset of 2012. It's going to be another awesome year to be alive on this beautiful planet. Live aloha!

Saying Good-bye Is So Hard

So, my last post was about the importance of family at holiday time. Well, I got up early on Christmas morning and since everyone else was still asleep I signed in to Facebook to catch up on my friends' goings on. I read with sadness that my dear friend's mom had passed that morning. Ten years ago my father died on Christmas Eve so I know how hard the holidays hit when grieving the loss of someone you love but Christmas morning has got to be worse. My prayers and my heart and my hugs are being sent to all of Nancy's loved ones. Nancy, you will be missed but we all know that you are free of pain and singing in God's choir now. To Shari, Mike, Michelle, Christopher, Christine, Paul and Kathy, et al... sit with your memories of when Nancy was alive and well. Those memories will help ease the pain. Even though it is hard to say good-bye, sometimes it is a blessing. Grief is a natural by-product of saying a permanent good-bye to a loved one...it is not a mental illness that needs curing. Grief is what it is and you have to go through it---feel it --- and face it. You can't ignore it, run from it or deny it. If you try - it will come back to bite you in the you know where when you least expect it. I have seen that happen too many times. Live Aloha.