Tag: appreciate

On a wing and a prayer, Random thoughtsLeave a comment

A new season is coming

leilaarmstrong

  Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you were born to a different family? Or born in a different country? How different would your upbringing have been if you had been born on the other side of the world to a family with different values and priorities to yours? I think about this often, how different would I be if I was born to a family in America, or Uganda, or Japan. And it’s not so much about the environment specifically, it’s more about values and character. How different, if at all, would my character … Continue reading A new season is coming

mum's cancer journeyLeave a comment

It’s the little things.

leilaarmstrong

I am a simple girl. Little things amuse me and make me happy. I don’t need much to get excited, usually a chocolate bar or four do the trick. I can find joy in simple things and can always try to find a positive in most situations. Unfortunately, life can throw you some curveballs and leave you struggling to find the rainbow amongst the storm clouds. Last year, our storm cloud was mum being diagnosed with breast cancer and having to go through chemotherapy and radiation. To say it was a rough road would be an understatement. Fast forward 13 … Continue reading It’s the little things.

cafe storiesLeave a comment

Cafe Crying

leilaarmstrong

I am a sympathetic crier; if I see someone crying, or am talking with someone who is crying, or watching a scene in a movie and the character is crying, I tend to get emotional with them and start crying. I even cried in the movie UP when the wife died and he got all sad and heartbroken (yes, it’s an animation but it was romantic and lovely and he was lonely without her!). I get even more sad and emotional when I see someone crying in public, because crying in public is not something that most people set out … Continue reading Cafe Crying

Random thoughtsLeave a comment

Online lovin’

leilaarmstrong

The online world is a funny place. So much of our time is spent navigating online apps like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, trying to get as many likes as we can and as many followers as we can with that elusive post or tweet that people will just love and repost. In many cases, some people put more effort into their online relationships than they do their real life face to face relationships. I know people who can hold their own online, however try o engage them in conversation face to face and you have a deer in headlights standing before … Continue reading Online lovin’

mum's cancer journeyLeave a comment

A new day has come.

leilaarmstrong

Friday the 6th of March marked the day that my Mamma Bear reached the end of her breast cancer journey. On Friday the 6th of March, Mamma walked into the oncology ward for the last time and had her last hit of radiotherapy for breast cancer. After 8 months of treatment, we had finally reached the finish line; 16 blood tests, 16 hits of chemotherapy, 6 stomach injections and 20 hits of radiation were finally, FINALLY, behind us. 8 months later. And let me say, there was joy because it has been a long, hard, heartbreaking journey. On that day, … Continue reading A new day has come.

mum's cancer journeyLeave a comment

May we never meet again (in the nicest possible way of course)

leilaarmstrong

Today at 10:30 am, my mamma and I walked into the oncology ward of our local hospital for her fourteenth, and last, chemotherapy session. To say there was mixed emotions would be an understatement! We walked in excited and anxious at the same time. We have been counting down to todays session since August, eagerly looking to the finish line. January 8th, 2015, was a date that was constantly brought up in conversations with mum and I; it was our ‘light at the end of the tunnel’. I used it to encourage her to hang in there, to see her … Continue reading May we never meet again (in the nicest possible way of course)

Random thoughtsLeave a comment

My Christmas wish for you

leilaarmstrong

It’s Christmas Eve and I’m sitting on the couch having tea and eating chocolate. Everything is done; presents are wrapped, the leg of lamb is marinating nicely,  the table has been set in preparation for tomorrow and my outfit has been selected for church. So I sit here, chilling out before I head up to church for our Reflections service, pondering life since last Christmas. There is a lot to ponder. Life has been challenging and beautiful and just plain interesting since last Christmas. Life has taken some interesting turns: up, down, sideways, through underground tunnels. There has been new … Continue reading My Christmas wish for you

mum's cancer journey, Random thoughtsLeave a comment

Tis the season…

leilaarmstrong

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas….with madness in every store! You know that it’s Christmas when you go to the shopping centre and find yourself faced with countless people running around madly, shopping bags dragging behind them and frowns that can be seen from a mile away. So much Christmas cheer and peace, especially when you hear the car horns blaring in the car park. I’ve learnt to keep my windows closed in the car park because I really don’t want to hear all the charming phrases people throw at each other. You really gotta wonder about what … Continue reading Tis the season…

Random thoughtsLeave a comment

The words are back.

leilaarmstrong

My writing grove is back! It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted anything and it feels good to be writing again; to just purge my soul and my mind through writing is so very therapeutic for me. Over the last couple of weeks, each time I’ve tried to write anything with any substance, the words have failed me. Repeatedly I tried to put my thoughts down only to have them get stuck in my mind and stay there until 3am, by which time I am too sleepy and tired to get up and write them down. I’ve been writing … Continue reading The words are back.

mum's cancer journeyLeave a comment

A little appreciation.

leilaarmstrong

Last week mum had a severe reaction to her chemo treatment. Severe to the point of turning our 3.5 hr treatment into a 7.5 hrs session of trying to get her stats and blood pressure back to normal. It was draining and frightening and something we’ve (quietly) been a little nervous about all week. The last few days, mum’s spirits dropped; she was feeling down and out, anxious,  nervous and just all over BLAH. She spoke of wanting to quit chemo and just quit things in general (that’s a story for another day because my head can’t deal with it … Continue reading A little appreciation.