love

Believe, Don’t Give Up! (Dedicated to My Mom)

/ Quirky Girl / 27 Comments

Time moves slowly, yet rushes by in a heartbeat.

Or, rather, it keeps on moving, long after a heart beats its final beat.

Today marks the one year anniversary since my mom’s heart beat its final beat in this world.

I miss her so much, especially as the holidays approach.

Memories- of the good times, along with the most heart-wrenching, agonizing moments- come flooding back with a vengeance.

It’s almost unbearable sometimes.

Words may be failing me lately…

Yet my mom managed to sum life up to perfection in one of her own blog posts:

Believe, Don’t Give Up!
By Souad “Sue” Battista
(a.k.a. Tink the Belle)
From Playing by My Own Rules

For every downhill battle, there will be an uphill victory.

For every backward tread, there will be a forward initiative.

For every letdown, there will be contentment.

For every tear, there will be a smile.

Sometimes what seems to be the end, could be just a beginning.

Life is full of endless detours and turnarounds.

Giving up is not an option. Never was, never will be.

My beautiful angel mom.

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle”. ~Albert Einstein

A Tribute to My Mom

/ Quirky Girl / 74 Comments

I never wanted to have to write this post.

And I’m struggling to do so now.

It was the first cloudless, bright sunny day after nearly a week of rain.

It was also the day my mom took her last breath.

Paradoxical as it may sound, it was still a beautiful day.

In a strange way.

Because it meant my mom was no longer in pain.

No longer spending every waking moment in agony.

No more excruciating daily struggles.

No more endless doctor appointments.

No more countless scans and blood work.

No more urgent trips to the hospital.

No more useless pills to try to mask the pain.

She is finally at peace.

Finally free of cancer.

Once and for all.

My heart aches with sadness.

But her suffering is over, and that’s what truly matters.

She is a survivor of war.

A recipient of miracles.

And the strongest, most determined, bravest person I had ever had the honor of knowing.

On December 10, 2018, heaven gained a new angel.

This is not the ending to the story that we’d hoped for.

But, in my heart, I know it isn’t truly “the end”.

Because love lives forever.

Hope lives on.

And nothing can ever take that away.

We Get Only Today
By Souad “Sue” Battista
(a.k.a. Tink the Belle)
From Playing by My Own Rules

I

won’t run away from  a challenge

I

Will move towards it

I

Will not let fear blind me

I

Will Face it

I

Will not hide from the truth

I

Will Learn from it

I

Search in the darkness

I

Seek the light

I

Won’t see an end

I

Find a new beginning

I

Will not turn away from myself

But

Back to myself

Fly high, Mom. I will always love you, and I will miss you forever.

Fly high, Mom. I will always love you, and I will miss you forever.

~I’ve got a lot of catching up to do, with blogging and life as a whole. My posts will likely be sporadic for a while until everything settles, but I’d like to take a moment to thank you all for your kindness and support, and to wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, in case I’m not up to speed before then.~

Bigly Bestest Blessing

/ Quirky Girl / 22 Comments

@thebiglybestestdoggie: I am happiness. I am a blessing. And I make people smile. The moral of the story? It obviously pays to be adorable! I think I’m on to something here…

~Happy Tuesday, friends! Doggies really do equal happiness, don’t they? Just look at that smile!~

Two Romeos and a Mob of Juliets

/ Quirky Girl / 48 Comments

Valentine’s Day may be a few days past, but testosterone is still in the air.

Did I say testosterone?

I meant to say, love.

Truly.

At any rate, my two boys have been in full-throttle paramour mode, with the unfettered spirit of Valentine’s Day lingering.

The younger one bashfully leaving anonymous gifts of stuffed animals and chocolate to a special someone before sprinting off in the opposite direction.

The older one brazenly standing outside, waiting for the bus, come hell or hypothermia.

One gifting with presents.

The other gifting with presence.

One shy.

One bold.

Very bold.

With his less-than-subtle, sudden need for fresh air on a rainy, 35-degree morning, it leaves little question to the motives of Romeo Number One.

Every day before and after school, this child stands outside at the bus stop.

Did I mention he doesn’t even ride the bus?

Let me tell ya, this boy has quite the collection of girls.

One minute, he’s going out for ice cream and a movie with one girl.

The next thing I know, he’s talking on the phone for hours…

With a different girl.

And then the next day, he’s eagerly waiting to escort yet another girl to/from the bus stop.

It’s good to have options, right?

Meanwhile, he avidly avoids Stalker Girl, who freaks the hell out of him with her steady stream of obsessively psychotic texts throughout the day.

But getting back to my sweet younger son.

Romeo Number 2 spent the day before Valentine’s Day freaking out over whether to get a card or gift for a certain girl that he thinks he likes.

Did I mention that she used to like him…

Back when he didn’t think he liked her very much?

That’s right.

She liked him first when he didn’t know if he liked her.

And now he likes her.

He thinks.

Which left him with a dilemma.

To buy a card or not to buy?

Or get a gift or give her nothing?

To tell, or not to tell?

Torn between craving the glorious attention…

Or hiding under his desk like a turtle retracting into its shell.

The joys of girl trouble and tween issues. 

It’s soooo complicated.

Both of my boys spend hours each morning in front of the mirror like mini Adonises, getting their hair just right…

All while protesting showers and forgetting to put on deodorant.

Ah, the sweetness of childhood amour.

Paired up with the joy of adolescence, it’s a sure recipe for…

Well…something.

Love?

Romance?

Stinky love?

As in Love Stinks, that song from The Wedding Singer?

Except I highly doubt Adam Sandler was singing about adolescent hygiene.

Teenage lust.

Isn’t it great?

Oh, but it gets better!

Romeo Number One will soon be trying out for School Mascot!

Which is technically part of the school’s Spirit Team.

Which means being part of the Cheerleading Squad.

As in, being the only guy among all those cheerleaders. 

Coincidence?

I think not.

Love is still in the air, and my two Romeos are on the loose.

Perhaps we ought to move to Utah and start a polygamist colony…

Love is still in the air...

Love is still in the air…