Anniversaries and Milestones

Checking in:

Hello, friends:

Thank you for coming back for blog two! Last week we talked about the rabbit representing fear in our lives. My charge to you was to think about what fears you have and how you are moving toward or from them. What did you come up with? My own assessment revealed that of health circumstances that we cannot control. Hear me when I say many things regarding our health we can control; some do better than others. However, I am talking about those symptoms that are unique and cause concern, make our minds wander, and lead some of us to search online to educate or self diagnose. See your doctor when symptoms first begin.

Post:

Last Saturday evening my immediate and extended family gathered to celebrate my parents wedding anniversary. We enjoyed good food and insightful conversation that led to catching up and learning more about our life journeys and situations. The unique elephant in the room was that of my maternal grandmother’s death which happened one year ago on the next day. During the evening, I noticed the continuum of emotion as those most impacted were more quiet (rightfully so) than usual; to those who weren’t aware of or publicly acknowledging Doris’ death.

This situation caused me to think about losses we experience from a significant death (no longer having our loved one there for conversations & hugs, being at or participating in our life events, hearing their laughter, etc.). Plus, all of the other tangible (termination, miscarriage, mobility issues, relationships ending, retirement, etc.) and intangible (sense of purpose, loss of identity and independence, freedom, etc.) losses we experience as we move through life.

At one point, I found myself thinking about those people in my life who have had a parent die early in their lifetime. Shockingly, I easily came up with 10 names of friends (my age or one year older) who have had a parent die. Then I thought about the larger number of parents that I know who have had a child die. To those of you whom this affects I am sorry for all the losses you have, are, and will continue to experience from the death of your mother, father, daughter, and/or son.

We will encounter losses and deaths (some sudden) throughout our lifetimes. Thinking back to my post from last week about fear, I ponder why we fear death and loss? I believe we have the ability to lessen (or diminish) our fear through conversation. There is power in sharing our stories and listening to others tell theirs. Create these opportunities before they disappear.

                  

Life Lesson:

While enjoying a bubble bath after the Saturday dinner I thought about the upcoming anniversary of my grandmother’s death which led to thinking about all those anniversaries we celebrate, ignore, dread, and sometimes embrace. When you read the term anniversary, think broadly (milestones and beyond). What anniversaries do you celebrate? Relationships, sobriety, surviving life threatening illnesses & events, accolades, graduation, or employment? What about those events that cause us pain? Abuse, surgeries, not moving into remission, relocation, or unemployment? How do you honor or acknowledge those? If you do not, why not?

It is imperative that we each honor all our anniversaries and milestones. The good ones are easy to acknowledge while the hard ones we, most likely, run from. To honor the (almost) one-year anniversary of my grandmother’s death, we read her favorite poem and sang one of her favorite songs during our Saturday gathering. You see, embracing our individual milestones brings growth, contentment, and/or joy, even when pain or sorrow are still attached to that date. What anniversary/milestone is coming up that you will honor? Who needs to be apart of that acknowledgement? Moving through good and bad times with others helps reconciling joys and losses into our current lives a little easier, do not go at it alone. Share your story.

Create joy in this day,

Lisa

Bunny Crossing

Welcome to my first blog post! Thank you for taking the time to read this and (hopefully) future posts. You can find me on Twitter: @lisaborchardtNE, www.journeythroughliving.com, Linkedin, or my Journey Through Living Facebook page.

Post:
Yesterday morning I was on a walk with my 1 year old lab mix, Mocha, in our residential setting. As we approached a house that had bushes lining the curb (no sidewalk) I heard a high pitched screeching sound and saw a cat drop a baby bunny that bounced off the curb onto the street. The baby bunny froze, Mocha was curious and went into a pointing position, the cat was hunched with fur standing on its back while a hissing sound began flowing from its lips, and I stood there perplexed. Well, what does one do? I, the social worker, could not let the cat kill the bunny in front of me. Yet, knowing that a hissing cat and a gangly 1 year old dog are not a good combination I ran through my "fight, flight, or freeze" options. In the 30 seconds it seemed I had to make a decision, the noise of a car coming down the street toward us broke my stream of thought. Mocha and I slowly backed away, keeping an eye on the situation, toward the other side of the street. After seeing this big white metal object come its way, the bunny scurried into the bushes, the cat backed away from the side of the street, and I smiled. After the car passed and I realized the bunny had made an escape Mocha and I continued on our walk.

Fast forward to yesterday evening (the same day as the morning bunny crossing incident) into my backyard. Mocha bounded out the back door, as she always does, and completed her foot and nose surveillance of the backyard making sure taunting squirrels weren't in her yard or up the tree. The 7 year old, sight impaired, doxie followed her usual route out the door toward the back of the yard. The perimeter is secured and the doxie is sniffing to find a place to do what she does. Suddenly, Mocha's keen sense of sound caused her to leap toward the back fence into the tall grass (that once looked nice and is now matted). The blind dog hearing the ruckus started waddling toward the noise. Flushed out comes a baby bunny running toward the blind dog (who does not see it coming), bounces off the blind dog as it makes a turn back toward the grass realizing it was trapped. Me, again, could not let the dogs kill the bunny. I calmly, not really, scream at Mocha to get inside. Trying to wrangle her in proved quite daunting, yet I somehow achieve success before the bunny was captured. I get the blind dog back into the house without her knowing what "hit her." I go back outside to check out the situation and said baby bunny is no where to be found so I sigh a breath of relief and head back into the house.

Upon reflection of having two baby bunnies cross my path in one day, I research the sign of the rabbit. Rabbit = fear. Of course, I thought, they are always on the run and in fear of other creatures. However, further reading about the sign of the rabbit suggested I look at what I am fearful of to have two rabbits cross my path in one day.

Life Lesson:
So, as I ponder, I ask you to reflect as well. What is it that keeps us running? What are we running toward and from? Is there fear? If so, what are we doing to contribute to and alleviate it? As I bring this first blog post to a close, I will share that I am planning on completing a holistic review of my current life situations, relationships, and experiences in the coming days and suggest you do the same. Be open to the ways that answers will come, and be diligent in your handling and implementation of the information received.

Create joy in this day,
Lisa