I have always hated the saying, "Things happen for a reason." I don't buy that. Please don't take offense, I just think it simplifies things too much. This is not to say that good things can't come from bad, because I think many good things have come from the fact that I had a stroke.
That being said, my heart hurts tonight for two of my dearest friends. As mentioned in a previous blog, I have a friend with stage four cancer. She has a one year old daughter, and her chemo treatments
I was reading CNN as I do most everyday when I get to school, when I discovered an article about Birth Control. To any men reading this, don't freak out...I am not going to get graphic. I don't think I have ever talked about this, but my neurologist tells me it is likely that the combination of BCPs and migraines (complete with aura) are to blame for my stroke. It was an explaination I always believed in completely. I did some research on my own when I first had my stroke, and most of what I
I was surfing around the blog forum and read the challenges section. I thought I might try my hand at one of them, and so I decided to make the list of one-hundred things about me. So here goes:
1. My favorite pizza is Tony's Pizza in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
2. I wonder why I like to watch crime shows.
3. I am the president of my local community theater.
4. My first pet was a cat named snowball.
5. If I wasn't a teacher, I would be in the Coast Guard.
6. I am terr
This past week was Spring Break, and I spent it on the coast with my mom. As it is about a three hundred mile drive, I see all kinds of different bumper stickers. Some I laugh at, others I sneer at, and others leave me scratching my head. During this trip I saw one that made me worry. It said, "It IS as bad as you think, and they ARE out to get you." Please understand, I have always considered myself a realist, and I don't view the world through rose-colored glasses, but things just can't b
This past Saturday I celebrated my five year stroke anniversary, and it was the first anniversary I chose to celebrate by doing nothing. It seems that I have contracted Spring Fever (the disease running rampant amongst my students) and have lost the motivation to do much of anything. When I awakened on Saturday morning, I was so excited to hear the birds chirping happily outside my window. This was a definite mood booster. When I took my crazy little Gatsby dog for a walk, I noticed that a c
I want to start by thanking everyone for welcoming me back to the blog universe and for the kind words you have shared with me.
Now for the mad part. :Tantrum:
In my previous post, I told you about my best friend. Her name is Kathy. Since my last post, Kathy has been in the hospital. She started a new round of Chemo on Thursday, and she was awakened in the middle of the night coughing and gasping for air. She initially thought her asthma was acting up, but by the next day, she rea
This has just been one of those weeks. You know, the one that seems to go on forever. I had high hopes for this week. I was able to spend this past Saturday evening with my best friend and her family for her daughter's first birthday. I hadn't seen her in three forevers, so I was really pumped. You see, my funny, sweet, smart, beautiful best friend was diagnosed with Stage 4 Gastro-Esophogeal cancer about a week before Christmas. I was and still am devastated. This is a form of cancer tha
I just checked the date on my last post, and it has been nearly two years since I posted anything on my blog. I wish I had a good reason for not posting, but I don't.
I miss this blog...I think I need the outlet.
As I write this today, I realize that I am about three weeks away from my five year stroke anniversary, and I am feeling bit reflective. The truth of the matter is, I really have been more reflective about things since I had a stroke. This has all resulted in a total per
Hello everyone! I decided to dust off the old blog and write a little something. I realize from looking at my entries that the last entry I made was at the end of our first semester. This entry is being written one week from the end of this semester! (Okay, so I am not sure what the point in that little ramble was, but anyway).
Things are just as hectic as usual during this all-out sprint to the finish. The difference this year is that I am secretly looking around at teaching jobs in t
It has been quite some time since I have posted here. Life is just plain hectic. Honestly, I have missed this outlet terribly, and I have no clue why I have taken the time off.
This has been a very strange school year. We are finishing our first semester today ( yes, I am writing this at school...shhhh, don't tell anyone) and it is about time. This semester has been like the gift that just keeps on giving. We were supposed to finish last Thursday and start the new semester today, but
I went to see my friend Andy's little grandbaby. He was so cute, but so tiny. I had never been in a NICCU before...it was a little creepy at first. We walked over there, and there he was all hooked up to stuff. It is amazing the technology we have to help little guys like him. He seems to be doing pretty well. The looser father was still hanging around...he makes me wish I was a violent person so he could have a little dose of his own medicine. I am aware, however, that these thoughts don
:Sob: This has simply been a very rough week. Not for me really, but for the people around me, and so I guess indirectly me.
On Wednesday, my friend Andy called me and told me that his daughter (who is seven months pregnant) was in the hospitial because they feared for the baby because her blood pressure was really high. This is only about a week after he and his wife had to go and move this daughter out of the home she shares with her looser husband because he beat her and choked her.
I think something that all of us on here can appreciate is the fragility of life. I know I have a new appreciation for life thanks to my stroke. Sometimes however, I think we need to be reminded. As I write this, one of my very best friends is lying in a hospital bed. She called me Sunday afternoon and said that her abdomen was hurting really bad and that if she stayed still it didn't hurt. She didn't say much about it, and I didn't pursue it because we changed subjects and never came back
Okay, so it has been a long time since I have blogged for real. The start to the school year has been quite hectic, and I have lots more to do because of a change in our scheduling. I have gone from having 60 students in a semester, to having about 125. Talk about an increase in paper work for an English teacher!
I decided today that I am really thankful that I am on an anti-depressant/ anti- anxiety. We have been having a very difficult couple of days at school. I will explain, but be
I haven't written here in a while, but I must say that I have been missing it terribly! What an amazing outlet this blog is for me!
I plan to blog a little more seriously tomorrow night or a little later tonight, but I just had to give it up for my Alma mater
Appalachian State!
Woooo HOOOOOOO!
College football legends!!!!! :Clap-Hands: :happydance:
This has a been a great summer, and I am so excited to think that I still have so much of it left to go! We finished our Production of Tom Dooley: A Wilkes County Legend this past Sunday. We had a very successful run. I think that I will be taking next summer off. It is hard to do a show four summers in a row. Gets to be a little redundant.
Anyway...now for an explanation of the title of my blog. Like many of you, I continue to find life post-stroke frustrating sometimes. I already
It is with a very broken heart that I write this blog. Three students at the school where I teach were involved in a tragic accident last night. Two of them walked away without much damage, but the third one did not. They were on their way home from a friends pool party, the weren't drinking, speeding, racing, or doing any of those things that kill kids all the time. A deer came out in front of them. The girl driving swerved to miss the deer, went down an embankment, and hit a tree. Justin
It has been quite a while since I have been on here. Things were pretty hectic for a couple of weeks, but they have finally calmed down.
First of all, I was saddened to hear about Diane's passing. My thoughts and prayers are with her family.
Secondly, I am glad to see that my friends Asha and Donna are back in the blogging business. I really missed you guys. I was waiting backstage the other night, and realized I had no idea how the heck you guys were doing. I am so glad to have y
I know that I shouldn't be so happy, but I am. I only have about four days of regular summer school left. This has been tougher than I thought it would be. Keeping the same students occupied for four hours at a time is a whole lot easier said than done!
Anyway...enough whining about that.
We started rehearsing for Tom Dooley this week. To see more information about the story behind the song, go to www.wilkesplaymakers.com I always look forward to Tom Dooley, but this year, I am re
Here I was, enjoying my precious summer off and the phone rang. On the other end was a man from the district office wanting to know if I would come teach some remedial students from one of the other high schools for two weeks. I said let me think about it. He said you have one hour. We will pay you your regular salary. In a moment of weakness, I said yes. I have no idea why because now that I have done it for two days, I would like to take it back. Thankfully it is only from 8-12 still g
It has been a while since I visited my blog. Our students finished last Wednesday, and I finished with school one week ago today. I promptly took off Saturday morning to go and visit my mom on the coast with the rest of the free world who heads to the coast on Memorial Day. I didn't get back home until Wednesday and I am just now getting down to the business of my blog.
My mom and I had a very good visit. She seems to have taken the circumstances of her stroke a little more seriously, a
I didn't post this in my blog last night because I was getting really tired, and my own blog was wearing me out. Before my stroke, I was in the best shape of my life. My best friend and I would go hiking every weekend at one of the many cool places near where we live. After my stroke, I had so much weakness in my right ankle, that hiking was pretty much out of the question as my friend is literally a full foot shorter than I am (I am 5'11 and she is 4'11) and I couldn't see her being able to
It seems like a long time since I posted anything on my blog. Of course, it is the end of the year. We started exams on Friday and the students finish on Wednesday. I have to work until Friday.
It has been a strange week. On Thursday morning, one of the friends I carpool to work with told us that her brother was really sick and had been put in the hospital on Wednesday night. They thought it was pancreatitis (sp?). She took her planning time that morning to go visit him. They told h
I mentioned in an earlier blog that my mom was having TIA's and they were making her really sick. Her doctor finally had her get some extensive tests done. She got results yesterday, and it wasn't particularly good news. It turns out that she actually had a stroke about two weeks ago. She doesn't have any residual effects, but her doctor is really concerned. He has changed her meds and stuff.
I am freaking out, quite frankly. Very little scares me more than me or someone I know havi
There aren't many things that make me get on my soapbox...but this is one of them!
I was standing in line at Walgreens to ask the pharmacist a question. There was a woman in front of me who was picking up her perscription. I was not trying to listen, but it was impossiblel to avoid. When the guy told her the total, she asked him, "Isn't it covered?" He told her that some things just weren't covered by whatever insurance it was that she had. She responded with, "Well, I guess I will wi
