… for Inspiring Stories – brain cancer hasn’t stopped this Ironman

Greg Sousa – brain cancer hasn’t stopped him and his goal of competing in the IRONMAN World Chamiponship.

I don’t know Greg Sousa.  I have never met him, and as far as I know, never even seen him, but I have been reading about him via links on a friend’s facebook page.  He lives in Durham, NC and is a husband, a father of two, a water resource engineer, a triathlete and … even though just over a year ago he had a brain tumor cut out of his head … he wants to compete in the Kona Ironman this fall.   Oh yeah, and WE can help make that happen.

For the second year, the Kona Inspired program allows seven slots for the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona to be filled by athletes with aspirational stories.  The voting has already started and the first round ends on May 31st, so we still have a chance to help my friend’s friend be one of the chosen ones.

From the Kona Inspired website:

IRONMAN athletes come from all walks of life representing a truly global community connected by both sport and lifestyle.  Every IRONMAN athlete has a story, a journey, a cause that drives them to the starting line … What drives you?

In an article by Deborah Dunham, Greg answers that question this way:

“I would be humbled to be able to use myself as an example to others,” he explains. “I’m one of many who has had life kick them down, and I’ve been able to stand back up. That’s the message I want people to get: If you’re knocked down, stand back up. Just keep going.”

You can see Greg’s video HERE.  It is just 90 seconds long and after viewing it just click on the button that says “Vote for this”.  Done.  THAT was easy!  If you want to read more about Greg and his path to Kona, you can visit his website www.badousabrain.com.  

I am always thankful for inspiring stories, but especially on days that I don’t want to exercise or I have a headache and am feeling sorry for myself.  Here is a man who is just a year or so older than me, who is training for an Ironman Triathlon – swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and finishing it up with running a marathon.  I can’t do that cancer-free and he is preparing to do it after having had surgery to remove a brain tumor less than a year ago!  WOW!  I am inspired, are you?

… for my dog, Spenser

“Good dogs are with us for a little while to teach us how to love like it’s our job … because it is.”  ~ unknown

Soon after we got married, my husband and I started talking about getting a dog.  We went to a Lab Rescue of the Potomac event in MD and met Blackie.  He was young, hyper, and so interested in all the smells in the pet store that he barely noticed us, but we were immediately smitten.  We could not adopt him that day, but we filled out paperwork and were sad leaving because we just knew that someone would take that great dog home.  Thankfully, we were wrong and got a call the next day that we could come and pick him up!

Blackie became Spenser, (named after the main character in the Robert B. Parker novels), and our lives were forever changed.  Twelve years, five homes and two continents later, we had to say goodbye to Spenser.  We don’t know what his first four years were like, (but he was a housebroken dog, so he must have been someone else’s pet at some point), but his last 12 were full of travel – he has been to almost 20 states and four countries, runs, games of fetch, snuggles on the floor/couch/bed, and lazy hours sleeping in the patch of sun on the floor.

“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring–it was peace.” ~ Milan Kundera

Spenser had some strange habits or idiosyncracies.  At our home in MD there was a tree out front that he would bark at and jump on, like he was trying to climb it.  It was confusing, odd, and ultimately hilarious to us.  We would pull down branches so he could reach them and he would bite the leaves off of them.  We never saw him act that way again about another tree.  He also had a strange reaction to the smell of lamb cooking.  The first time we cooked it in our home he ran upstairs and had to be forced down the stairs to go outside for two weeks.  He would not even come down for food and water.  We would bring it to him.  The next time – the same result.  We have many theories of why he reacted this way – 1- he lived on a sheep farm and the barn caught on fire and 2- he was a vampire (we always put cloves of garlic in our leg of lamb), being our favorite two.  Oh, to be a dog whisperer and know what his life was like before he rescued us.

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” ~Josh Billings

I have never lived completely alone.  Before I got married I always had a roommate.  When my husband deployed for seven months while we were living across the country from our loved ones, my dogs kept me company.  I loved Sophie, but Spenser was the one glued to my side.  If I left a room, he followed.  He would even lay in the bathroom while I showered.  During this deployment, Spenser had tumors rupture and internal bleeding.  He had surgery to remove his spleen and we were told he had 3 to 6 months to live.  I was devastated and just prayed he would hang on until Chris returned.  Well, it is has been just over five years since that day and we just now had to say goodbye.  That dog got spoiled for quite a while until I finally stopped worrying that he was going to die every day.  It was a good thing for him too, because he was so big from all the people food he was getting from us that he was going to die from something other than the blood cancer!

“Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.”     ~ Mark Twain

Spenser and Wilson.

I prefer to think that right now this great dog is running at full speed through green fields and playing fetch with our dog Sophie, and all those dogs he played with in the past who have also passed on.  I can still picture him with his big yellow volleyball in his mouth playing keep-away. There are people who think that is crazy.  I don’t care.  Years ago, I saw a sign that said “Heaven is the place that when you arrive all the dogs you have ever loved are there to greet you.”  THAT is my idea of heaven and it doesn’t hurt me or anyone else to think it, so if you have any comments to the contrary you can keep them to yourself, thank you.

 

“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” ~ Will Rogers

I am so thankful that I had Spenser in my life.  He made it so much more rich.  He taught me how to love unconditionally, made me feel like I was never alone, comforted me when I was feeling down, and was ALWAYS happy to see me.  I am eternally grateful for the time I had with him and will always miss him.

Spenser at Dog Beach on Coronado.

… for Gallery Blocks from Nations Photo Lab

In the previous post I was thankful for the 3M Command Picture Hanging Strips we use to hang things on our walls.  As I was writing it I started talking about the actual photos we were hanging, which I LOVE, and realized they needed their own post.

Our five Gallery Blocks.

They are pretty amazing, and help us with another thing it took us six moves to learn – glass breaks … often.   EVERY move we have at least one frame with broken glass in it.  Sometimes we just need to replace the glass, but other times the print or photo is damaged as well.  I was researching photos printed on canvas and found these  Gallery Blocks, (by Nations Photo Lab in Maryland).  I like the look of canvas, but could foresee our next movers putting a hole right through a canvas.  Gallery Blocks are solid wood with our photos laminated on them.  You can wipe them clean with a cloth.  They are a lot more durable than frames with glass, and sturdier too.  You can buy their hanging system, which looks great, but our walls wouldn’t take the nails, so we used the Command Velcro Hanging Strips.  You can even get photos mounted on a block, which is then mounted on another one, but we prefer the simple Single option.

I did not get paid or compensated for writing any of this.  These are just something we found, that worked for us.  I am always thankful for recommendations from trusted family and friends, so I also enjoy sharing things we like with others.  I am VERY thankful we found the Gallery Blocks from NPL and look forward to ordering more and filling up our walls!

… for 3M Command Picture Hanging Strips

In our 12 years of marriage, my husband and I have lived in six different homes, and were/are renters in 5 out of 6.  You would think we would have figured out picture-hanging sooner.  One day, my sister told me that a fellow Navy spouse used velcro to hang all of her pictures.  I remember thinking how innovative that was, but I wasn’t hanging pictures at the time, so I never looked into it. Fast-forward a few years and we are moving into our apartment in Germany.  We knew our walls were concrete, so we borrowed a drill and bits that should work.  They did not.  It turns out that not only were our walls concrete, but the concrete covered a steel mesh.  Good to know … AFTER we desperately tried to drill some holes in a closet with no shelves or hanging bars.  It was then that I remembered the velcro, which wouldn’t help with the closet hardware, but we had a ton of pictures to hang on the walls, so I checked it out.

3M Command Picture Hanging Strips

I was able to find some of the 3M Command Picture Hanging Strips in a store on base and ordered more in a larger size on amazon.com.  We used them to hang framed pictures big and small – from 8X10’s up to 3’X4′ prints in very heavy frames.  They have been up for a year and nine months and nothing has fallen yet.  Every once in a while – maybe three times – I go to each picture and press where the velcro is to make sure it is still fully connected.  I am very impressed with how well they have worked.

One of the many reasons to use the velcro hanging strips is that there is no damage to the wall.  We had one grouping of four photos that we recently had to add a photo to, which necessitated moving every single piece.  These are Gallery Blocks we had done at Nations Photo Lab and are all made of wood and I love them so much I decided they needed their own post.  Once that post is complete I will link to it here.

The before picture – the velcro strips on the wall for the recommended one hour before hanging pictures.

First, we had to take down the four  Gallery Blocks we already had on the wall.  It took a few minutes to take them down, and when we did you couldn’t tell there had been anything hanging there.  Next, we followed the simple directions on the package and put the velcro on the walls, then removed the blocks for the suggested hour.  After the hour was up, we put the blocks back on the wall.  Without the hour to wait, it took about 15 – 20  minutes of work and most of that was figuring out the spacing.  The best part is, when it is time to move in another year it will be easy to take them down for packing!

The final product.

I can see us using a lot of these in our son’s room.  As he grows older and his tastes change he can easily take down old pictures and put up new ones. They also make strips just for hanging posters that don’t use velcro.

I am thankful to the person or persons who developed the Command Picture Hanging strips. Because of them, we were able to find a cheap, easy and stress-free way to hang all of our photos when we move.  This is important to me because it doesn’t feel like home until all of our pictures are hung on the walls.

… for fantastic opportunities – Biggest Baddest Bucket List

Lesley is a fellow blogger who has entered a contest to win “The Biggest, Baddest Bucket List” contest.  Her blog is Bucket List Productions, where she posts about many things, but mostly about the bucket list she makes for herself every year and how she is accomplishing all of the items on it. She has been all over the world, but has many more places to see and things to experience.  Help her get there and live vicariously through her, as I hope to do if she wins.  You can get to her blog here:

Where Are You From? With Just One Little Click… The World!.

She often posts a quote that I just love:

“The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.”    ~Eleanor Roosevelt

So, visit her site, check out what she is doing and vote for her to get this great opportunity.

… for inspiring stories – Taylor Phinney comes in last place

I love a good inspiring story, and I have a feeling this won’t be the first one that I will blog about.  My brother-in-law shared this one on facebook today and I knew I had to share it.   “This Is Not a Story About Last Place” by Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal should be required reading for all kids, athletes, adults, non-athletes … okay, everyone.  You can read the entire story by clicking the link above, but I will summarize it here too, for those of you in a hurry, (or perhaps with a toddler clinging to your leg demanding a snack).  I can’t do Mr. Gay’s writing justice though, so if you have the time, please read his version first.

Taylor Phinney’s solo ride during the Tirreno-Adriatico. Taken by Stefano Sirotti.

Taylor Phinney is a 22-year old cyclist who was competing in a race in Italy recently.  The course was very difficult (27% grades where many cyclists got off and walked their bikes uphill), the weather was horrendous, he had parts break and had to replace them during the race, and he just wasn’t having his best day.  At one point he found himself far behind the lead pack with a group of cyclists who were all contemplating dropping out.  They wouldn’t be alone, many others had already done just that – at the end of the day one third of the cyclists did not finish (DNF).  Every other rider in that pack DID drop out and Taylor found himself alone pedaling to the finish.  Even after all that, he did not make the time limit he needed to compete the next day.

So, so far, this is the story of a young man who had a bad day and finished last in a race.  He finished, but where is the inspiration in this?  Taylor is the son of two cyclists, one of whom – his father – has Parkinsons Disease.  Amidst this crappy day, Taylor just thought of his dad.

“I knew that if my dad could be in my shoes for one day—if all he had to do was struggle on a bike for six hours, but be healthy and fully functional—he would be me on that day in a heartbeat,” Taylor Phinney said. “Every time I wanted to quit, every time I wanted to cry, I just thought about that.”

How often do you have a bad day and quit?  I know I give up on little things all the time or don’t even attempt the bigger things because I fear I may fail.  If only we could all sit back and think about the people who can’t do what we can, who don’t have what we have … wouldn’t we do so much more, try harder, not give up?  I know I would.  This story is an inspiration to anyone who read it and really thought about what they could do, or do better, if every time they wanted to quit, they thought like Taylor Phinney did and decided to carry on.  I know that is what it did for me.

Perhaps the most important person that this story inspired is Davis Phinney, Taylor’s dad.

“I have almost no words for how amazing it makes me feel,” Davis Phinney said. He wrote in an email to his son:  You make me so happy and beyond proud—and that is better than any medicine and can defeat any disease.

I am thankful that my brother-in-law and Mr. Gay decided this story was worth sharing, because I know that Taylor Phinney’s example will inspire others, the way it inspired me. We are always in need of people who can inspire us and I look forward to following his career in cycling and continuing to see the young man we saw competing in this race.

… for blood donors

Hopefully, you have not had the need for a blood transfusion to get you through a rough spot, or even to save your life.  I have not, but have had family members and friends who may not be here today without that donation of blood from someone else.  You can donate blood to a family member, to a stranger, or even to yourself (for a future need due to surgery, etc.).  As a military dependent, I donate to the Armed Forces Blood Program, which supplies blood for the military community.  The AFBP provides blood for everyone from active duty members needing battlefield transfusions in Afghanistan to cancer patients who are military family members living in the US.

I remember my first donation.  I was in high school and 17 years old – just over the minimum age and weight and excited to get out of class.  Not being allowed to exert myself for 24 hours afterwards also may have gotten me out of swim practice (where my coach told me to go drink a beer because I would get drunk faster, which I was horrified to hear).  My intentions then maaaay have been a bit more selfish than they are now – and NO, I didn’t even think about drinking the beer (that was back when I thought it tasted horrible – my how things have changed).  Knowing that EVERY TWO SECONDS a transfusion is needed and that ONE DONATION CAN SAVE THREE LIVES is more of a motivating factor now.  I also grew up knowing that my Mom always donated every 8 weeks, which is the minimum time you must wait in the US to donate blood again, so it is “in my blood”.  Ha ha!

Not everyone is eligible to donate blood and there is a screening process that is there to protect both the recipient and the donor.  Of course, the blood banks don’t want anyone giving someone else a disease, but they also don’t want the donor getting sick due to a loss of iron, etc.  The process has evolved, and not every country follows the World Health Organization recommended testing guidelines, but most western/developed countries do and most also mandate that it is a voluntary donation.

Check out your local blood bank, the Armed Services Blood Program (if you are affiliated with the military), or go to the Red Cross Website to find a location near you and save a life … or perhaps three.

I am thankful that donating blood is something that I can do to help others and that, if needed, others donate who could someday save me or someone I love.

… for different perspectives

It isn’t always easy, and from my point of view there are some people in this world who have NEVER done it, but I am absolutely certain that we can all benefit from looking at things from a different perspective.  This can apply to solving problems, or the realization that the view you have of something is not the view that someone else may have which can help you understand their situation.  Changing your outlook can be a physical AND psychological experience.

A child on a farm sees a plane fly overhead and dreams of a faraway place.  A traveler on the plane sees the farmhouse below and dreams of home.  ~Robert Brault

Earlier this week I was flying into my hometown.  I have done it many times before and driven in even more than that.  The drive is a long straight section of interstate highway along a flat stretch of mostly swampy land, which is hard to see from the road.  The perspective is really quite boring with only a variety of billboards to relieve the monotony.  On this flight I was flying in during the early evening hours on a mostly clear day, with some clouds, but they didn’t block the view of the ground.  I looked out and down and was taken aback by the beauty of the landscape.  The rivers and creeks, all twisting and turning into oxbows, were reflecting the light of the sun.  The picture doesn’t do it justice, but it was just beautiful and my 2 year old was quiet for a few minutes to allow me to take it all in.  I had been sitting on the plane looking at the mess he had made with his snacks, thinking of how tired I was from the jet lag from a six hour time difference that was still affecting me days later and looking out that window changed it all.  My physical perspective changed by looking down on the scene and allowing me to enjoy the beauty of southeastern Georgia and the many creeks and rivers that wind their way to the Atlantic as we approached the Georgia/Florida border.  My emotional perspective also changed.  Kind of a two-for-one, but if I hadn’t opened my eyes and really looked nothing would have changed.

My husband and I often talk about trying to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes.  It could be me asking him to put himself in my shoes, or vice versa.  Many disagreements have ended on a positive note when one or both of us has been able to do this.  It isn’t always easy.   Other times we are trying to solve a problem and cannot quite get the solution.  We may need to stop and reassess, coming at it from a different direction.  Recently I was upset by some things that someone said to me.  I realized that if I dwelt on the annoyance and anger that I felt it would fester and I would be the only one hurting.  If I try to look at things from their perspective and attempt to determine why they may have said what they did I could probably come up with a positive reason, or at least something that would allow me to release some of the anger.  If I can choose to believe they were sincerely trying to help me by the hurtful words they said, whether that was true or not, my new perspective allows me to let go of the anger, which is a positive step.  As a very good friend is always telling me  – “Don’t give them power over your emotions.”  I can choose how to feel, and looking at something from a different perspective can sometimes help.

We must think differently, look at things in a different way. Peace requires a world of new concepts, new definitions. ~Yitzhak Rabin

When reading or listening to comments made by political adversaries, (really any adversaries), I wish I could sit them in a room and force them to look at the situation from the other person or group’s point of view.  I don’t have some ridiculous idea that they will end up “hugging it out” and all will be well, but … I do believe that understanding the other side’s point of view can help.  It certainly can’t hurt.  In family counseling, high school bullying, business disagreements, … the list is endless … that different perspective can help.

I am thankful that I now try to see things from others’ perspectives and thankful that it often is the help we need to solve problems and feel better about a situation.  I hope that I can convince others to do the same.

… for examples of good sportmanship, (which are in short supply)

With all the negative stories in the sporting world, most recently the fall from grace of Lance Armstrong, it was so refreshing to read about Iván Fernández Anaya.  Unfortunately, (because it was a positive story?), it took weeks after the event to show up in the mainstream media, but it is facebook and twitter where the story seems to be spreading more widely.  I first read about it when a friend linked to the story on facebook and have now found photos and even video of the event, but let me get to the story …

Iván Fernández Anaya guiding Abel Mutai to the finish of their race on December 2nd.

Señor Anaya is a Spanish runner who was running a race in Navarra, Spain on December 2nd.  He was in second to a Kenyan runner, Abel Mutai.  As Mister Mutai approached the finish line he slowed up, as if he thought the race was over.  According to some accounts, spectators called to him to tell him the finish line was still ahead, but they were speaking Spanish and he did not understand them.  Anaya caught up to him and stayed behind him and guided Mutai to the actual finish line, allowing him to finish first.

After the race, the 24-year old Anaya explained why he did not take advantage of Mutai’s mistake to run past and win the race:

“He was the rightful winner.  He created a gap that I couldn’t have closed if he hadn’t made a mistake. As soon as I saw he was stopping, I knew I wasn’t going to pass him.” and  … “Even if they had told me that winning would have earned me a place in the Spanish team for the European championships, I wouldn’t have done it either. I also think that I have earned more of a name having done what I did than if I had won. And that is very important, because today, with the way things are in all circles, in soccer, in society, in politics, where it seems anything goes, a gesture of honesty goes down well.”

I thought it every interesting that Anaya’s coach, Martin Fiz, was unhappy with his runner, stating:

“The gesture has made him a better person, but not a better athlete.  He has wasted an occasion. Winning always makes you more of an athlete. You have to go out to win.”

Anyone who knows me and my love for Special Olympics and good sportsmanship knows how much I disagree with this statement.  Losing, and losing well, makes you a better person AND athlete.  Look at Lance Armstrong, who had such an aversion to losing that he cheated for years, lied about it, and hurt many teammates and friends in the process.  Yes, he won, but would you say that HE is a better athlete now? I would not.

One of Anaya’s quotes says it better:

“We train above all to do the best we can, we train hard, and I want to remember that above winning and above everything else is the personality of each person and sportsmanship with our fellow athletes.”

Now, THAT is the type of athlete that I want my son to be surrounded by, coached by, and to ultimately become. I am thankful that there are men like Iván Fernández Anaya and that enough people thought that his story was important enough to share.  Please continue to share this heart-warming story.

… for Martin Luther King, Jr.

In the United States, we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday on the third Monday in January.  This year it falls on the 21st.  He would have turned 84 yesterday, the 15th, if he had not been taken from us too soon in April of 1968.  In recent years, this holiday has often been celebrated as a Day of Service in his honor.

I thought I knew some things about MLK, (as he is often referred to), before I began this post, but in searching for more information I found out many things I did not know.  He did not finish high school, but went to college at the young age of 15 and earned his bachelors degree.  He later went on to earn his divinity degree and PhD in theology.  His name was Michael, but at some point his father changed his own name, (and his son’s), to Martin Luther King (Jr.).  According to a few sources, their names were never officially changed, so he was legally Michael King when he died.  It has also been reported that part of his dissertation for his PhD was plagiarized, which I had never heard or read, but that Boston University didn’t find that a reason to rescind his degree.  I also found out that Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has been celebrated outside of the US, including in Toronto, Hiroshima and Israel.

MLK is widely known for his nonviolent approach to the Civil Rights movement in this country.  He led marches, made speeches, and visited cities all over the country to try to help those who were disadvantaged gain the equal rights they deserved.  He is probably best known for his speeches.  My personal favorite is the “I Have a Dream” speech, and particularly this portion of it:

“… And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today! …”

This speech holds more importance to me today as a parent.  This dream world that he spoke of is the world I want for my son.  I know that people think we have come a long way, in regards to racism, but we still have a long way to go.  These words still resonate today.  I am thankful for the nonviolent approach that MLK advocated and these, and other, hopeful words he spoke that we can still read and listen to today.