Aging….


I am so grateful that I am no longer young. I received this in an email and thought I should share it!!As I’ve aged, I’ve become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself.

I’ve become my own friend.


I have seen too many dear friends leave this world, too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.


Whose business is it, if I choose to read, or play, on the computer, until 4 AM, or sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 50, 60 &70 ‘s, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love, I will.


I will walk the beach, in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves, with abandon, if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old.


I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And, I eventually remember the important things.


Sure, over the years, my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break, when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody’s beloved pet gets hit by a car? But, broken hearts are what give us strength, and understanding, and compassion. A heart never broken, is pristine, and sterile, and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

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I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning grey, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver. As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don’t question myself anymore. I’ve even earned the right to be wrong. So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it). 

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Always Here When Needed Award



This is a lovely award. Vic loved butterflies.

The transformation that the butterfly goes through shows a powerful symbolism and likeness to human beings. The different stages, the difficulties, and finally emerging into a beautiful and colorful butterfly which once was an unattractive crawling creature, also shows the power of human beings to surpass challenges, learn, and then eventually soar to greater heights. Just as the butterfly has to go through some not so attractive stages, a person’s life can through similar situations as well, but ultimately, in the end, reach one’s full potential and become majestic and beautiful.The butterflies that we see in our gardens do not only keep the balance of nature, but for some people, they have a higher purpose. They are souls of departed ones who have come to give blessing, or spending time with you as they wait for their turn to pass through purgatory.

Leaving that aside, to comply with the rules of the nomination, I would like to thank Lucinda Elliot for the award. Lucinda, a published author, writes and lives in mid Wales. She likes gothic, dystopias, historical and steampunk. She has a superb sense of humour and has the ability to make her words “dance”. Lucinda’s blog is beautifully written and can be found on http://sophieandemile.wordpress.com

Five things that make me happy.

  1. My grandchildren and husband
  2. Drinking tea
  3. Walking on the beach
  4. Working
  5. Stepping Stone Hospice

This is so difficult as I have so many wonderful friends who are always there for me. I have taken the five people who comment most on my blog.

  1. http://prayingforoneday.wordpress.com
  2. http://buckwheatsrisk.com/
  3. http://talktodiana.wordpress.com/
  4. http://thedrsays.wordpress.com/
  5. http://jmgoyder.wordpress.com/

Thank you for always being there for me. Thank you for your kind words of support. Thank you for caring. Thank you for always being here when I need you.

How is Your Day Going?


I woke up crying this morning.  I wept for my child, my motherless grandsons, Izak, who has gone to a forever home, my blogger friend Julie @ http://jmgoyder.wordpress.com/ who is going through a dreadful time; Len @ http://myownheart.me/ who still counts the days since her precious Klysta died, Morgan’s Mom…Sandra @ http://thedrsays.org/ dying from congenital heart failure…  I did not want to get out of bed.

Well, I eventually did and found this wonderful email from my friend, Christelle.  It brought a smile to my face, and I decided that I MUST share it with all of you…  I hope it brings a smile to your face too…

 

Life isn’t about how to survive the storm,

but how to dance in the rain.

If you are having a bad day, remember it could be worse…..

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Esther’s Living Eulogy


Esther was the first of Danie’s children that I met, when we started dating.  It was a couple of weeks before her wedding.  I was so thrilled when she asked me to go with her for the final fitting of her wedding dress

I will never forget her words to me in the car that day:  “Don’t worry about us kids.  Just worry about you and my dad”

I cannot remember whether I articulated my fear of her and her siblings, but she sensed it!

I was PETRIFIED of Danie’s four children.  I did not particularly like children.  Maybe my mind refused to accept the fact that I love children because I made the conscious decision to not subject a second or third child to Osteogenesis Imperfecta.  The OI gene was passed onto Vic by her Dad, but we had been divorced for many, many years and I accepted that I could not have another child.  I did not have space in my heart for another child.

I loved Vic with an all-consuming love.  I did not always like her, but I always loved her!

I met the kids and I was petrified.   They were livelier than any other children I had ever met with their own little quirks.  I actually never dated a man with children until I met Danie!

I blogged on the proposal before and will not bore you with the beautiful details of it again… https://tersiaburger.com/2012/10/05/danie-the-wind-beneath-my-wings/  .  You are welcome to read the post on it.

We have been married for 22 years.  For 22 years these amazing children have crept into my heart and firmly lodged themselves there.  They have accepted me into their lives.  They loved and nurtured my Vic.  I am a punker bunker granny to their children…

Esther, is very outspoken, to the point, honest and an amazing wife and mother.  She is loyal to a fault, independent and fiercely protective of her loved ones.  Esther is compassionate and unbelievably intelligent.  She has a superb sense of humour but very sensitive.  She is an amazing person.

Esther nursed her husband through Stage 4 Colon Cancer.  She researches nutritional sites for correct and healthy food.  She is totally focused on her family and will demolish anyone or anything that threatens them.

5.10.2012
5.10.2012

Esther was truly the sister Vic always wanted.  There were times when things were rough between them.  There were differences and some hurt.  But…there was a gentle love between the sisters.

Esther popped in to visit Vic almost every day.  They texted and BBM’d.  They shared war stories about their children.  Esther was Vic safety blanket… Esther would lie in bed with Vic and hold her hand.  She encouraged and helped.  As a pharmacist she was amazing in assisting us with Vic’s meds in the last couple of weeks.   As a sister she told Vic to let go; that the boys were safe; that she was loved and would never be forgotten.  She told Vic to go towards the light…. Jon-Daniel went to stay with her in the last days of Vic’s life.  She was there when Vic left home the last time.  She may have been there when Vic stopped breathing – I can’t remember.  I know that she sprayed Vic’s favourite perfume on her before Vic left home….

1.1.2013
1.1.2013

 

Esther and Leon with Vic 10.1.2013
Esther and Leon with Vic 10.1.2013

So Esther, if you read this know that I love you deeply.  Know that I respect you for the beautiful person you are and for being an amazing mother to my beautiful grandsons.  Thank you for the joy you bring in your father’s life.  He loves you with an intensity that is scary.  When Vic died he cried and said he cannot imagine it being you…that he hoped you would end up on the same cloud one day….

Esther and her dad
Esther and her dad

Thank you for loving Vic the way you did.  Thank you for comforting her in her hour of need.  Thank you for coaching her towards the end of her life.  Thank you for loving the boys and having compassionate conversations with them…. You know what I am talking about!

I wish you joy and happiness in the year ahead.  I love and admire you.

The end of Maxine….


This was so funny I just had to reblog this. I do plead guilty to sharing most of the behavioural traits listed below…..  Thank-you Shirley for reblogging this.  
 

Reblogged from 

http://boudicabpi.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/the-end-of-maxine/

The end of Maxine….

Posted on 12, 10, 12

maxine

 
As we progress into 2013, I want to thank you for your educational e-mails
over the past year. I am totally screwed up now and have little chance of recovery.

I can no longer open a bathroom door 
without using a paper towel,
nor let the waitress put lemon slices in my ice water without worrying
about the bacteria on the lemon peel.

I can’t sit down on a hotel bedspread 
because I can only imagine
what has happened on it since it was last washed.

I have trouble shaking hands 
with someone who has been driving
because the number one pastime while driving alone is picking one’s nose.

Eating a little snack sends me on a guilt trip because
 I can only
imagine how many gallons of trans fats I have consumed over the years.

I can’t touch any woman’s handbag 
for fear she has placed it on
the floor of a public toilet.

I must send my special thanks 
for the email about rat poo
in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with
every envelope that needs sealing.

ALSO, 
now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.

I can’t have a drink in a bar
 because I fear I’ll wake up in a bathtub
full of ice with my kidneys gone.

I can’t eat at KFC 
because their chickens are actually horrible mutant
freaks with no eyes, feet or feathers.

I can’t use cancer-causing deodorants 
even though I smell like a
water buffalo on a hot day.

Thanks to you 
I have learned that my prayers only get answered
if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

Because of your concern , 
I no longer drink Coca Cola because
it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer buy 
fuel without taking someone along to watch the car,
so a serial killer doesn’t crawl in my back seat when I’m filling up.

I no longer use Cling Wrap 
in the microwave because it causes
seven different types of cancer.

And thanks for letting me know 
I can’t boil a cup of water
in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face, disfiguring
me for life.

I no longer go to the cinema 
because I could be pricked with a
needle infected with AIDS when I sit down.

I no longer go to shopping centers 
because someone will drug
me with a perfume sample and rob me..

And I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask
me to dial a number for which I will get a huge phone bill with calls to
Jamaica , Uganda , Singapore and Uzbekistan ..

Thanks to you 
I can’t use anyone’s toilet but mine because a
big black snake could be lurking under the seat and cause me instant
death when it bites my butt.

And thanks to your great advice 
I can’t ever pick up a
dime coin dropped in the car park because it was probably placed
there by a sex molester waiting to grab me as I bend over.

I can’t do any gardening 
because I’m afraid I’ll get bitten by the
Violin Spider and my hand will fall off.

If you don’t send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in
the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land
on your head at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, and the
fleas from 120 camels will infest your back, causing you
to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it
actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor’s
ex mother-in-law’s second husband’s cousin’s best friend’s
beautician!

Oh, and by the way…

A German scientist from Argentina , after a lengthy study,
has discovered that people with insufficient brain activity
read their e-mails with their hand on the mouse

Don’t bother taking it off now, it’s too late.

P. S. I now keep my toothbrush in the living room, because
I was told by e-mail that water splashes over 6 ft. out of the toilet..

NOW YOU HAVE YOURSELF A VERY GOOD DAY…