6/16/15 - So This Happened

Isn't it lovely? It's an early birthday gift for me, and my birthday isn't until July! Awesomeness!

Oh yeah, and this too.

Now I bet I've got you wondering.

But wait, there's more!

They are gifts from my ex-husband. That's right, my ex. Well, the car isn't exactly mine - he bought it for me to use. It's a 2000 Cadillac. How generous is that?!?

We've been divorced for almost as long as we were married, and it turns out we are better as friends than we ever were as mates.

I have to give a shout-out too to my bff Leslie. It was her FIL that hooked us up with the sellers. Oorah!

AND, we confirmed that John's pup is Nonni's half-brother! The breeder was glad to get an update on Nonni and her full brother Soto that lives with mommy Leslie.

Nonni and Zuber

So, by now you understand that John's visit was special. And I also have to give him kudos for not losing it when I left the passenger door of his truck wide open while we went on a test drive - with my purse in the seat! Going from dealer to dealer, listening to conversations, the traffic - all of it was too much for me to take in even though I was just tagging along. I tried my best to keep up, but that was a big sign for both of us that I was maxing out. Fortunately, the salesman had noticed and hung around the truck until we returned. Most people would have stopped right there and said no way am I going to give you a car to drive, but John simply said he trusted me not to drive when I wasn't processing well.

Thank you, John! I'm quite certain that you belong in some sort of hall of fame for ex-husbands. If you ever run across such, let me know and I will nominate you.

I am so blessed by so many people. I actually, can quite emphatically state that I don't think I would be alive today if it were not for the generosity of those who have carried me through my illness to this point.

My new meds help immensely so I have great hope that I not only will be able to remain independent, I am flourishing in ways I never thought possible. For a while, I thought I was becoming a vegetable. What I thought were going to be horrendous, unbearable limitations on my life I actually now see as turning points filled with spirituality and love. I'll write more about that in another post, but it is impossible to come up with the words to say thank you to those who have saved my life.

Thank you to the Palace Purchasers, to Leslie, John (the magnifico ex), longtime friends Steve, Tracy, Carolyn.... the list goes on. My family, David Howard, my Unity and New Thought family, my tribe - including the scrapmaniacs, the many people who donated to YouCaring, my coach at Write for Healing-Angelique, Glenn, and the people who give me shout-outs, IMs and uplifting comments and replies on my posts - all of you have saved my life. My doctors too. Thank you.

By the way, my last nasty fall cost me $750 and that doesn't even count my out-of-pocket expenses for meds and treatments for my actual "perceived" illness. I have quality medical care because of the support I've received. You all are awe-mazing!

So, going back to the pics above - you may be thinking.... She shouldn't be driving! Well, my meds have put me back on the road. More or less. Otherwise I wouldn't be. I've actually only been behind the wheel 3 times and I'm limited to a 10-mile radius during low-traffic times, but there is such great freedom in not only being able to drive again, but in being able to think that well again. I can't help but cry as I write this. I even made it to church recently. I haven't gone before because the bus doesn't run on weekends.

To be fair, someone from my Unity family would have been glad to come get me, but the truth is - I wasn't sure I could handle it. Last time I went to church in Goliad, the service didn't even get started and I had to leave. Noise and/or commotion has inevitably caused seizures over the last several months so I have been hesitant to go and put someone in the position again of having to leave and bring me home. So now, with my new meds, I am having fun pushing the limits just a bit.

No worries. I'm not going to go crazy - figuratively or literally. It's just that I have a new leash on life. Oh yeah, and a new patio table, and a new-to-me car.

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PS. It took me 9 hours, 3 days and 2 people editing this post, but I am writing. Writing means the world to me. The time it takes doesn't matter.

A friend of mine is helping me and says she can publish my book, Kaleidoscope 9, in July 2015. Woohoo!!!!!! It is a collection of 8 short stories I wrote some time ago, and one written more recently around functioning with a traumatic brain injury.

Here's an excerpt from Freedom In Death:

"The priest did his thing, and I’m sure it was eloquent. I didn’t listen. My mind kept going back in time to the last time I saw the bastard in the coffin. He had been arrested again, and I had gone to the jail, again. Only this time I went to tell him that I wasn’t bailing him out and he would never see me again. Ever. He exploded in screams. I could still hear him ranting and raving as I walked through the lobby and left the police station. I never looked back, and he never saw me again."