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April Showers Bring May Flowers

Happy May Day!

 I love May Day/ For many reasons. The first reason is kinda bittersweet. May Day always reminds me of my Grammer (Grandma). I spent a lot of time with her as a kid. My mom was a Stay-at-home mom. So Mom, Grandma, & Me (& my sister when she came along) would go to shopping a lot. We'd go on walks, get nachos in the WalMart Grille, etc. She was a huge part of my childhood! The reason I remember her on May Day the most is because every single year my sister & I would make these cone shaped baskets out of paper. We loved drawing on them, adding sparkles, and other fun goodies inside. We would sneak up and leave them, ring the bell, and run back to mom's car. We always thought we were sooo clever never getting caught. By the time we got home Grammer would have left a message on our machine " Oh my goodness, someone left me these beautiful baskets, how could I not have caught them. I was ready this year waiting right by the door" Then we usually went to lunch with her and would divulge all our plans and details on how we got away. Seriously, it was probably one of my FAVORITE traditions. I hope to continue it with my mom & my future children!
Picture: A small portion of my maternal side family, with my Grammer sitting in the chair in the middle... Yes I have an american flag swimsuit & bandanna on.. It was 4th July & I was a weird kid. just focus on the cutie cousin I'm holding instead...

 My grammer passed away in 2010 a month before I graduated college. It's  been 4 years, but I still miss her as much as the day she left us. But I picture here in her dresses. dolled up with QVC jewelry and some fun over-top purse. I try to remember her with a smile instead of tears, because that's who she was. She was a happy person, who loved me very much!

Here's something I may never have shared on my blog : One time coming out of my surgery I heard her voice in the other room and apparently I just kept shouting "I hear my Grammer, Where's my Grammer?"

She was always telling people how proud she was of me. But the single most memorable moment ever where I knew how proud she was, happened when she was struggling towards the end.

There was a point where she got a little better, and they took her off the vent. She could have one person in the room, she asked for me. The first thing she told (well, raspy whispered) to the nurse after the took her tube out of her mouth was "This is nothing compared to this girl here. She's tough."

That sentence will live in my heart forever.   I will always be tough, but then do I have a choice?

As a person with CF I have to be tough. I do 9-11 breathing treatments a day. I take over 50 pills. I have days where I can barely move due to Arthritis problems. I have days where my GI problems are horrendous. I have had 15 surgeries.

I'm not amazing, I'm doing what I have to. BUT grammer was right I never give up and will always be a fighter, I do try to see the bright side of things and not let CF upset me too much. The people who are amazing are the people who support those with CF and do so by choice. Andrew is amazing, my family is amazing, my friends are amazing. Because they understand or always try to.

What a great time to learn more about CF too. May is national Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month! make sure to follow my CF facebook page to learn more :-)



We went out to eat last night & talk about everything that is going on, since it's quite a bit.

Here are some pictures from dinner. 

So we got some big and exciting stuff coming up! In the next 3 weeks I have my GI update appointment, Andrew's Birthday, I'm starting another NEW clinical trial, and Andrew & I are going to see Lewis Black on May 7th! (Thanks to winning the tickets through a competition with the CF Foundation!) Plus, more wedding preparations & CF Walk stuff!

Plus, I'll take any reason to dress up & go out! And I mean look at that food! Yum, I love seafood. I'd eat shrimp & scallops for every meal if I could!

We've been so busy. Me with medical crap, the CF Walk, and wedding stuff. Andrew with working full time & over time, plus he has 15 credit hours of school too (which its finals week). It was glorious to have a date night in the middle of it all to just enjoy the evening &  talk :-)

Best part... It was his idea. He's such a sweetheart!

Hope you all had a beautiful May Day and I will keep you posted on all the exciting things we have coming up!!!!





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Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 2, 2015 at 10:03 AM

    Beautiful story about you and your Grammer. My grandmother loved me so too...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CherizMay 6, 2015 at 7:53 AM

      Thank you. I know what you mean, Grandmothers are so special!

      Delete

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