We had a nice Independence Day celebration at our friend’s house on the river, Pat and Buddy. They had quite a crowd and we knew about half the people there already. We feel we have made some wonderful new friends as well. One lady wanted to buy a cookbook at Pat’s persuasion and I sold a total of five. The lady who bought three of them, whose name is also Pat, also had quite a few canning jars she was getting rid of. They gave them to us. When we called today to arrange a pick up time, she wanted me to bring her two more cookbooks! Since I haven’t been able to work at selling any since early March, it was a good thing! When the weather cools off this fall, I hope to get back to working at it.
My mother is progressing well and is becoming very anxious to get home. I stay in touch with her every day by phone and mail often too. She is very lonely where she is but fortunately, she had quite a bit of company today and was thrilled with that despite how tired she became.
My last post was primarily about my breast cancer. I want to continue to address that issue on this blog but at the same time, I want to make it perfectly clear that the topic of being a cancer survivor is just one aspect of who I am. There are many dimensions to this old gal and I am a survivor in general. I have withstood many challenges in my life and yet my life is not just about that either. Maybe I am a really complex person but I have always felt that one of my greatest strengths is versatility. While I am not really an expert at anything, I have been blessed with the ability to do a mediocre job at such a wide variety of things.
Another characteristic of mine that I consider a strength, is my determination. When I decide to do something I am not likely to give up until I somehow manage to achieve it. Like I said, it may not be perfect but it will be finished. I have tried so many things in my life and yes, many of them have gone by the wayside, yet I feel that I am a more diverse and experienced individual because I tried. Some things I have done just once—and that was more than enough. Other things I am still working on . . . like writing my life story as just one example.
Some of my skills are in desperate need of honing and others I definitely need to work at achieving. If I were to try and describe myself in a short summary I would say that I am a Christian woman with strong faith and family values. While I wear many hats, just like most women do, I am a product of all of my life experiences—the good, the bad and everything in between. Without the rain, we wouldn’t appreciate the sunshine (or in the case of the drought here in the Southeast, without the scorching heat, we wouldn’t appreciate the rain we need so desperately). Without chaos, we wouldn’t appreciate the peace; without pain, we wouldn’t appreciate the good times as much. How grateful I am to my Heavenly Father who has given me such a wide variety of experiences and opportunities for growth, both temporally and spiritually. How grateful I am for the many individuals who have touched my life—both with influences for good and not so good. I am also grateful for the many who have inspired me, who encourage me and who forgive me for my multitude of shortcomings . . .
Mary Lou's Space 