Tag: optimism

Optimistic October

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September was slippery and swift. Schools, students, and sickness. Reunions, rest, and reflection. My optimism hasn’t surrendered.

Welcome, October!

“Yet, I can face the winter with calm. I suppose I had forgotten what it was really like. I had been thinking of the winter as a horrid wet, dreary time fit only for professional football. Now I can see other things—crisp and sparkling days, long pleasant evenings, cheery fires. Good work shall be done this winter. Life shall be lived well. The end of the summer is not the end of the world. Here’s to October.”

A.A. Milne, “A Word for Autumn”

Sweet Surprise

She knew I was coming to stay. Picking her up from school with her Dad was a surprise! “Grammy K!” Her precious tiny voice boomed as she was escorted out of the building. Grasped in her tiny fingers was a picture she had started for me. Her sweet 5-year-old voice excitedly shared her day. Cloud Nine isn’t high enough to describe how I felt. Elated? Elevated? It was pure heavenly. Talk about optimism!

Hours later she was tumbling, balancing, stretching, and swinging at gymnastics! It was pure joy to soak in the end of September with this doll. The trips to and from school were a delight! You know how I love schools so imagine my love for HER combined with the school! How will October top that? Like always, I’m optimistic.

Seasonal Social

Liberty, Missouri put on quite a show. The heat showed up with thousands of others. It was the quintessential heart of America hometown parade. Whitley and I found a spot to sit “criss cross applesauce” on the street. Floats with singers, preachers, police officers, and pets. Marching bands, football teams, and more dance squads than one could count. Sweat was rolling like the candy being thrown. The swing ride was a perfect way to cool off!

SKILLED SPECIALIST

There were years of pain and unknowns B.C. (before cancer). It’s been 3 years A.D. (after diagnosis) and they’ve been filled with…SO MUCH (including love & laughter). Could they tell what I was thinking in the back seat? Did they know what this meant to me? This wasn’t just a 30-minute trip into the heart of K.C. to see my new cancer specialist. It was a life-long trip within the heart of me.

The man driving me to St. Luke’s was my 2nd newborn whom I held with pride decades ago. My heart thought of his older brother working in Japan. Memories of yesteryear hurried through my head like the 70 mph speed limit. From his birth to meeting my precious daughter-in-love riding shotgun. Their lives, moves, and the birth of their baby. My precious granddaughter. Suddenly, I was in Alaska again with my other amazing “baby boy”, daughter-in-love, and two little grands. Before we ever got near the railroad tracks where he works, tears flowed like the Missouri River.

You see, this wasn’t JUST a drive to an appointment. It represented everything good about life and the passage of time. That 30-minute drive reminded me of how 30 minutes in the past was the difference between life and death, a diagnosis and good health, a good decision and a poor choice, unemployment and a new career, walking to barely crawling, fully awake to sound asleep. Life can turn on a dime in 30 minutes (or LESS!).  

The team at St. Luke’s met us with kindness, professionalism, empathy, and humor. The doctor’s gentle manner and expertise was realized right away. We shared tears when the word “hope” was highlighted as he showed the “kids” the new liver lesions that had returned. HOPE. You know how much hope I already have (and how I throw it all around like falling leaves and glitter!).

What’s ahead? Another treatment here (and blood draw) next week to help strengthen bones. I’ll head back to Kansas City the end of October for scans. It’s not strange to me that I DON’T have “scanxiety”. When a statement like “this is a marathon, not a sprint” is repeated consistently it sticks! You know what else is sticking? My faith, resilience, and utter relief in the Holy Spirit and my Savior.

So, September ended up pretty sticky. Sticky hot, stick-with-it attitude, and a bit of a sticky sickly feeling from traveling. Guess what else is sticky? My faith, resilience, and utter relief in the Holy Spirit and my Savior. If YOU find it, know it, live it, and relish in it, there’s nothing that can undo it! It’s best to stick with it for it’s a power that’s unexplainable, undeniable, and also, my lifelong love story. There’s nothing else for me to BE in October but…optimistic!

Friends, thank you for your patience as I navigate my journey. Between appointments, daily tasks, and inconsistency in health, I sometimes struggle to keep up in communication. Do you know how much you mean to me? Even more, do you know how LOVED YOU ARE? If you or a loved one suffers from a chronic illness, cancer, or any disease that impacts your livelihood, please reach out for help. YOU do NOT need to suffer! We have a Savior that redeemed us! The great exchange! The sinless Savior died for us that continue to be messy humans. His righteousness died for our unrighteousness! I’m not talking religion–I’m speaking about a relationship. Ah, the great surrender.

THAT is the reason I plan on having an OPTIMISTIC OCTOBER.

Have hope. Find faith. YOU ARE LOVED. 💚

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Embracing imperfection with faith, flannel, & fresh air

K.L. Hale

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Keep on the Sunny Side

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“Keep on the sunny side,

“Always on the sunny side,

“Keep on the sunny side of life…”☀🎵

“Do you always smile?” This question has been asked of me many times in my life.  My answer is typically, “I sure try.”   And don’t we all smile at times we don’t feel like it?  

Are you optimistic?  Can you think yourself happy?  What do you do to cheer yourself up (or can you?)?  We’ve been taught “we are what we think”. Do you allow the energy of your mind to be taken over by toxic thoughts that keep swirling your brain?

Are you anxious, moody, or nervous?  Are you struggling with finding your purpose?  Or are you running on auto, numb to anything, because you feel you have no control over your situation?   

What have you learned because of the pandemic?  Do you feel stunted and fearful? Or are you exhausted?   I’m going to supply my own statistics.  Out of 10 friends in which I’ve asked simply, “How are you?, 100% shared that things are challenging.  Friends, we need to get real with one another.  The pandemic, and life in general, has put us all back on our heels at times.

This last week for me has been full of fun, friendship, and fellowship.  It had been a year since I experienced such a full week of activities with others.   All of us came crawling out from under the heavy rocks of restriction together (and wearing our masks and being wise 😉).   This was not a dangerous game of chance with the virus (and every sneeze of allergy season being treated as such).  But it was still a matter of health.  Of mental health, physical health, emotional health, and spiritual health.  While we have all stayed “hunkered” down the cases of anxiety, depression, and other mental stresses have risen.  Nearly 70% of the country suffered together with the wicked winter storms and I would guess 100% of us would say 2020 brought new challenges.  And the storms of life will keep brewing on–for all of humanity.  If we’ve learned anything it’s that we ultimately can only control ourselves and our reactions. When will we let go of what we can’t control?  Do you try to stay busy to just stay distracted?  Are you trying to keep a routine, whether healthy or unhealthy, because it’s the only normal you have in your life?  I’ve always tried to be a “glass half-full” human.  Even if I drank the other half (and I’m thankful just to have a glass). I’m ok being called Pollykarla. My comeback is optimism with a huge tank of faith and hope. The alternative is misery.

We know joy because of pain.  We become wiser because of poor choices.   Our circumstances are all different. We view only through the lenses of our experiences-can we all wear glasses of grace? Don’t expect others to understand YOUR story. You’re more than just the role you keep-you’re more than a paycheck and what you can do for somebody else, you’re more than just being a caregiver, you’re more than just being a worker, you’re more than just a filler for someone else’s loneliness, you’re more than what the world tells you that you have to be, you’re more than an invisible person that no one can see, you’re more than just a diagnosis, you’re more than just survivor, you’re more than just a spouse, parent, or loved one. You are everything; without anything. 🤍

Do not let someone else dismiss your feelings.  If you’ve been minimalized, shamed, or invalidated, I’m sorry.  Feelings aren’t right or wrong.  What we do with them can lead us down a path of danger or serenity.  We can exhale a collective sigh that we’re in it together.  We can nod our head and smile at a stranger (keeping in mind that we have no idea what he or she is facing).  It may have taken EVERYTHING in them to just get out.   And to those who are trying to go so fast to avoid stopping to feel ANYTHING, know that there are people out there willing to give you space to slow down, breathe deep, and recollect your thoughts and actions (versus giving up).   We want it all, we want it fast and now, and we forget that we’re missing out on just living in the moment.  Worry is consuming; and on the opposite end, complacency can creep into creation.

I have faith.  And when I end my posts with those two words, I’m not dismissing the fact some of you may not have it.   You may not have hope. May the void in your life become filled with a presence of a Spirit and a love that is unexplainable.  That void for me is in Christ alone; it’s true love.

I have faith in you.  I still have faith in humanity.  Don’t lose hope.  Know you are loved.  I hear you and I see you.  No one else can give you your happiness-do you know where it lives inside you?   Surrender to the sweet spot meant only for you.  Not because you feel forced or pressured.  Use your 6-foot space to truly stand apart from anything that is keeping your hope hostage.  Use boundaries to be your best; and respect the rules of engagement with others. Don’t just know someone; understand them. While you’re swimming so hard for others, don’t let yourself drown.  We’ve all swirled in the waves of uncertainty, fear, health, relationships, and other dangerous “rocks” in the river of life.  Throw a life preserver and support a soul.  Don’t pull someone under because of your own riptides of repression.  Give them a hand of hope. 

 I smile thinking of my family (great news-I’m going to have another grandbaby in August 😊).  I do love smiling.  And if I cry, I’m ok with it.  Tears feel good sometimes; they’re needed.  And I give myself space to sit with my emotions.  And by taking care of myself mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally, I’m better prepared for the jagged jams on my river journey.   The sun is shining bright today.  I think I’ll just think about that and soak it in while it’s here-care to join me?

Have faith 🤍