November Gratefulness Post - November 16

One day while I was sitting in my room on the cancer ward at UNC Chapel Hill this reverend walked into my room.  At first I thought that maybe he was a chaplain with the hospital. I mean, why would I think anything else?

Then he explained that he was the father of someone that my husband and I went to HIGH SCHOOL WITH!!!!!!!!!  I mean what?  We live in North Carolina and went to high school in Massachusetts. Bethany Steigler Guiste and Kirk Steigler's dad, as well as Rebecca McGregor's pastor.  Their dad was now living in North Carolina and they had asked him to come to the hospital and check on me because they knew that I was in a bad way and needed that spiritual guidance and prayer.

I can't even tell you what it meant to me to have him come and visit with me.  It was such a short period of time, but the joy and peace that he brought to me simply can't be put into words.  We talked a bit. He prayed for me  and over me.  He anointed me with oil from the Holy Land. It meant so much to me!

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It was just what I needed at just the right time. And to come from friends that we hadn't seen in such a long time, and certainly wasn't expecting it from ... all that more meaningful.

November Gratefulness Post - November 8

I have a group of ladies that I knew I could depend on before I got sick. I had no idea to what extent I would have to depend on them until the rubber met the road.  And to be honest - I had never met a one of them. I felt I knew them deeply.  We had been through a deeply intense experience together. But now I know.  I don't even have the words to describe how good they were to me. Not even when I was sick, but afterwards, too. They know my heart. Some of the first cards I got in the hospital were from them as a group, and it meant so much.  I got presents from some of them individually that were simply beautiful and had a lot of thought put into them. I treasure them. And I treasure the words and prayers they sent to me.  Reclaimers. I love you all. You know who you are.

November Gratefulness Post - November 6

My family took my phone and my computer away from me after I had my stroke in the hospital. Having them just made things very frustrating for me because I had forgotten some very basic things.  Things such as passwords, and even to some extent how to do some basic typing because I had lost some a lot of functionality on the right side of my body.

So when a friend I had not seen in years walked into my ICU room to take care of me, I cried for the first time in a long time. Becky, the fact that we can go years not saying a word to each other, but that you would know exactly what I would need as soon as I would need it - that you would drop everything you have going on to give me what I need when I need it ... you just don't know how that made me feel.  That you know me so well... That you know my needs... physical, emotional, spiritual ... even from so far away ... so much so that you can just drop what you are doing and come be with me like that when I need you most.  Seeing you and spending time with you was such a treat - one I will never forget.  I am forever grateful to you for the time we spent together.  I sure hope the next time we spend time together it's not because one of us is really sick.

November Gratefulness Post - November 4

This post is going to be about my sister, Shannon Dempsey.

I know I say this about so many people right now.  But I mean this from the bottom of my heart.  I don't know where I would be right now without her. The bond between us has never been stronger and I hate that it took something like this to make it this way. The fact that when she heard what was going on and dropped everything to be with me .... I will just never be able to repay her.

She stayed beside my bedside during the most harrowing hours.  She saw me at my worst.  She did not bat an eye when my worst got even worse than I ever imagined it could be.  When not only my questions got harrowing, but so did the doctors.  She laughed with me when the only other option was to cry.  She helped my family get through their own issues by pushing through her own.

I know that 2015 has been a horrible year for her, too.  Here is hoping and praying that we both start to see the light at the end of the tunnel soon.

Glimmer

So this is just a random post about an app I got that I am kinda digging.

I got it for my phone off of Google Play. It's an alarm app called Glimmer.

Yes, I'm well aware that my phone already comes with an alarm. Got that. Why is this one so special? Because I love the way it wakes me up. It softly wakes me up.

It turns on the screen 30 minutes before the alarm goes off with the darkest screen and slowly increases the brightness. It starts to wake you up 30 minutes before the alarm goes off, first by gradually brightening the screen, and then also by increasing the soft sounds of birds singing. If none of this works for you and you haven't woken up by 1 minute after alarm time, it plays a strong sound to be sure you don’t miss it. At this time it also goes from "night" mode (not allowing the notifications for emails, texts, etc...) to "day" mode.

The app is free in Google Play - and I loved having the free version. If you choose to upgrade to the paid version (for like a couple of bucks - literally helping the developer by some coffee) you are able to customize all the settings - like how long it takes to wake you up in the morning - which sounds it uses to wake you vs. alarm you. There are a few more background options for the picture that comes alive as your wake up time approaches. All of them are so great and fun. Some are techie, some are nature. When I was able to customize it I went from the 30 minute wake up time to 15 minute - that worked just fine for me.

I find that I am without fail up before my alarm goes off now. At least 5 minutes. I wake up much more gradually - like more gracefully and naturally instead of pissed off at my alarm clock.

So get you some and wake up a little more gracefully.