Saturday, June 28, 2008

A Dark Cloud over Bloggerland


There seems to be a black cloud hanging over Blogger land this week.

Maybe it is just the smoke from the fires burning in CA. I'm not sure, but it seems that everywhere I visit this week, we have all been in a funk.

I can see the storm heading our way. It seems we are driving right into it's path. I've tried putting on the breaks, but I'm afraid my momentum is going to take us straight into the storms path. Yep, it's a down hill ride from here.


I know that we are all fighting some battle or another.


Suzanne has her health and animal cruelty, Bob and KookieBear have their depression,


MJ has her poofter porn addiction, I.V. has the Big Sur Fire (Man I hope God helps him fight that one because that is such a terrible disaster.) And the rest of us are just battling life in general. Like everyone else, I am struggling too. We learned this week that my sister's cancer has invaded her liver, and I have the symptoms and preliminary positive test signs of Lupus. I have to go to the Doctor later to get some further testing done. But that's not why I'm writing this post. I feel that so many of us are just needing some positive guiding light.


So I've done some searching.


I'm not sure I've found the light, but I have decided, things could be much worse.


I mean, look at Iraq. Are any of us living in fear of being blown to bits if we go to the grocery store tomorrow? I think of all of the parents and families and friends of the soldiers and civilians that have lost their lives to the war. I think of the grieving families of missing children.


I think of the paraplegics that cannot walk, or the mentally ill that are unable to think.


I think of the blind, and the deaf, and I think of myself.


I really have been blessed. I've been blessed by two of the most beautiful boys in the world.


They are funny, and smart, and so kind. (Yes, I realize they aren't mutant teenagers yet, but right now they are wonderful.)


I think about my husband. He is such a loyal, honest, and hardworking man. And I love him with all of my heart.


I'm blessed with such a wonderful family and I am thankful for each and every member.

I think about my parents. And although their health is ailing, they have lived such long and full and wonderful life and I have had good quality time to spend with them and really get to know them.


I think about my job, and my education, and my home, and my car. I have all that one could need. I have shelter, food, and transportation. I even have more than that. I have entertainment at my fingertips. With just the push of a button I am connected to people half the world away. I think of my friends and when I try to start to count them, I realize there are so many of them that it is difficult to count. I attempted to send out an email message the other day to everyone of my friends in my contact list, and it wouldn't send because there were more than 50 names on it. I guess Hotmail will not send to more than 50 recipients at a time.


You see, there is so much that we should all be grateful for. And yeah, we are going to have some bad times, but we really need to try and pick ourselves up and keep on trudging.


I sometimes look at my dog sometimes and I think, "God, she is so lucky."


I scratch her belly and her ears, I give her food, I give her shelter, I take care of her if she is sick, and she really has no worries. Or does she? She certainly stresses out when I am sick. She knows when I don't feel well. She is so excited when I get home from work. I can tell that she misses me when I'm gone. So does she worry that one day I won't return. When we have a thunderstorm, she is unhappy and upset if the entire family is not close together, so she worries and frets about us. We are her pack even though we aren't even the same species. We are her family and that is how she sees us. That is how I see each of you. You are part of my pack and I am worried about each and everyone of you this week. I hope that the Supreme Being, whomever you all call him/her is watching over you, and I hope that he/she is able to deliver you out of the storm that your life is weathering at the moment. I can feel the protective wings over me. I just pray that they are spreading out to cover you, my family and friends as well.

I want all of you to meet Apollo. Apollo used to be my Mother in Law's dog, but after her passing last summer, he went to live with my Brother in Law(BIL). We are keeping Apollo for a week while BIL is on vacation. Apollo was delivered to my house at 7:30 this morning. I had only been in bed for about 3 hours, so I was quite displeased to see BIL that early. I was even more displeased to see a very wet and hairy Apollo being released into my home. I promptly showed Apollo to the back yard and then returned to the front door in expectation to retrieve dog food and other doggie care items that would be needed. None were received. Instead, I was told that Apollo may have ticks, and needs to be given the heart worm medication that we give our dog. We weren't even given any food to feed the dog. But after watching Apollo and Javie play, and seeing how Apollo greeted my husband (husband and dog had bonded last summer as husband basically took care of dog while MIL was in hospital.) my angers about caring for Apollo faded. He is a wonderful, gentle giant of a dog. And we are happy to have him as a guest here at our home. And as you can see from the picture above. He is smiling, so I think he is happy to be here too.
I think Javie is happy to have a friend to play with, but I can see her getting a bit jealous if we dote too much of our attention on Apollo. But Javie Dog is a wonderful dog, so I'm sure she will be fine. Now, does anyone have some doggie shears I can borrow. Apollo is a shaggy mess and in dire need of a hair cut.

17 comments:

just bob said...

I didn't know anything about Lupus so I had to look it up. I hope things work out for you and everyone in Bloggerland. I'm sure thing will turn around for all of you.

Anonymous said...

Cece,

What a wonderful post! I agree that everyone seems to be on a bit of a downer at the moment, myself included. It was so nice to read your post and realise that in fact, we do have a lot of things to be thankful for. Thankyou. You've cheered me up today - so much, that I might be inspired to write a post and reply to my comments!

As an aside, the dogs are gorgeous, but I'm still a cat person!

Peter xx

kylie said...

apollo is a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e !!
and it's a great post...puts things in perspective.
BTW love the new colour

Cece said...

Bob,
You are a member of Bloggerland too, so I hope thing turn around for you as well. Did you not realize you were mentioned in here. I hope you are feeling better about yourself and will allow us to comment on your blog again soon.

Peter,
I'm glad I could be a motivational typist for you. I shall be right over to see what you have written and to read your thoughts. At least the ones you have chosen to share. Love ya bunches, even if you are one of those cat persons.


Kylie,
Yes, Apollo is a wonderful dog. But he is shedding his massive clumps of fur all over my back yard. It looks like I have several chopped off horse tail all over the place. But he is keeping Javie Dog company. I am glad you like the new color. I am trying to go Green. That's what that means right? LOL (Just Kidding Suzanne.) Glad you enjoyed the post.

Unknown said...

i'll be keeping you and your sister in my prayers. I think all this stuff that gives us so much grief these days are really things that we could do with out. americans need to learnt simplify and figure out whats really important these days or its going to get a lot more depressing for those that refuse to.

bindhiya said...

Dear Cece,
It's been a long time..sorry i took this long to be here..
i cannot sit down or look at screen..that's what am dealing with on top of throwing up all day and night...
Sweetie, I'll keep you and sister in my prayers...
I'll call you as soon as i get the energy.
♥ & ((hugs))
bindi

just bob said...

Cecile: I did see that you had mentioned me earlier and for that I thank you. I do hope the dark clouds over all of you clear up soon (even if that means rain coming from them to put out the fires for IV).

I got socked in the gut on Thursday with something that hurts on so many different levels I can't begin to make sense of any of it. It will be a long time before I might be able to escape the abyss.

Kookaburra said...

G'day Cece,
Sorry I haven't been here in awhile. I checked in on you early this morning, 'down under time' and left a comment on "Our New Land." Cece you are a lovely and caring lady. To think that you would be thinking of other people's misfortunes when it is you and your sister that need our love and support. This Post is one that I will reflect upon for some time. Thank you for your thoughts.
I too had to google Lupus and I sincerely hope that you won't be too badly affected by the disease.On a lighter note - Apollo is a handsome if somewhat shaggy dog.

Love,
Mark xox

G'day, just bob, peter, kylie, jeanetta, & bindi.

Kookaburra said...

Seems like there's a few of us down in the dumps :(
C'mon Suzanne!
Get yourself over here and cheer us all up :)

The Mistress said...

I've been giving this a lot of thought lately, especially in view of the fires in California and how they affect some of our blogger friends.

We all have our problems, our demons, and our crisis situations from time to time.

I use my blog partly as a place for people (including myself) to escape to. A place to forget all their worries and have a laugh.

Humour has always been important to me. A close friend died recently and I almost gave up my blog because of it. But my friends encouraged me to continue because my late friend would want the world to keep on spinning and everyone to enjoy themselves as best they can whatever the circumstances.

As cliche as this sounds, we're all in this together.

And to quote Canadian TV personality Red Green, "Keep your stick on the ice!"

Cece said...

Bob, I'm very sorry to hear that you have yet another hurdle to clear in order to pull yourself from the dark abyss. Just know that we are here to continue giving you encouraging words and support as best as we can from afar.

I'll address everyone else later. I"m at work and something was just brought in that I must deal with.

Cece said...

Jeanetta, Thanks for your prayers. They mean a lot to me.

Bindi,
I'm so glad you came out of hiding. I was beginning to worry about you. Just know that the morning sickness will hopefully pass soon. And please don't fret over me. I'll be fine.

Mark,
Your words were so wonderful. But you see, my sister has fought cancer for the past 10 years with so much grace and poise, that I have decided that I am going to try and tackle the prospect of having Lupus with the same tenacity. Also, I have shed so many tears for her, and although I am sad that things are going to be coming to an end at some point, and most likely sooner than later, I am going to remember her as the graceful and determined fighter and the remarkable woman that she is. I have been able to draw strenght from her.

Gig said...

Cece,
What can I say,GREAT POST!! I will be back to read it over again, thanks for being the caring, wonderful person that you are. I love the family photo!! Apollo is an awesome dog, even with his shedding. If I was closer, you could use my clippers.
I will be back later, Teenagers have use my laptop and I have major problems with it.

I will be keeping you and your sister plus all of our blogging family in my thoughts and prayers.

Love, Gig

Cece said...

MJ,
I am so glad to see a serious and sensitive side of you that I knew must be there. You are correct in saying that we all need laughter. That is why I love your blog, and that is why I sort of used you as comic relief in this post. Thank you for keeping us laughing, because it is wonderful, and thank you for continuing to visit my blog and bless it with your presence. I'm very glad that I was finally brave enough to visit your blog, and we have I.V. to thank for this.


Gig,
I wish you were my boys grandma. Could you be their adopted grandma. Oh and you and Mr. B could bring your RV and park on our lot and visit me anytime. I would love to visit with you, because I know that we would be able to talk and laugh for hours. I'm so glad you enjoyed the post. To be honest, I wasn't too sure how people would perceive it. I was afraid that many would think I was telling them to quite whinning, and that isn't what I was trying to do. I'm so relieved that people understood the message that I was trying to get across. I shared a lot of personal feelings in this one, and when I do stuff like that I guess it makes me feel vulnerable. It's sort of like lying my heart out there for people to see.

Suzanne said...

Hi Sweetie,

I love you. Thank you for such an amazing post. With all you have to deal with, here you are supporting all of us. I don't have the words to express how touched I am (probably because Leah and Kylie ruined my dictionary). I wouldn't trade you for the world Cece. You are such a beautiful and thoughtful person, and my dear friend.

I loved all the photos on this post. Apollo is adorable and I think he should live with you... always! Have you had any success with his matts? I think shaving would do wonders, but you already know that. And honey, the photo of you, hubby and the kids is priceless. I absolutely love it. You're beautiful and you have an amazing family.

We're all going to be fine. If we aren't, we have one another to lean on, and that's what friends are for. **Jorge "Honey, can you get something for everyone and something for yourself too?" "Yes honey."** Look, even Jorge feels the love. We'll be fine if he sticks around.

I love you baby and I love everyone here. A few are missing, but leave this post up long enough and like in Field of Dreams, they will come. (Oh course I know you're laughing!)

I love you, you know that. Rob's and my thoughts are with you as you navigate Lupus. We're never more than a phone call away. Never.

Love to all,
XO Suze

Suzanne said...

Okay, one more thing. Our friend's dad, who is a retired doctor, found something that may help all of us. Our friend called with the information yesterday. Trust me, it's hilarious. Go to Google and type in "ask the fruitcake lady." (Without the quotes of course.) You won't regret a single moment! And yes, search the entire list!!! Have fun. I feel better already.

XO

Queen Goob said...

You ARE blessed. What a great blog. I'm not in a funk anymore, I'm just being a slacker so I got nothin' to complain about. Well.....I could but I'll save it for when everyone else is in a more gooder mood.