May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month

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Thanks for everything you did!

Thank you for everything you do to aid those of us dealing with this daily!  God Bless you all!

Jill and Barry Baynes

Just Write: Raising Mom/ written to post next week, it couldn’t wait! Forgive me please

my momma

my momma

Mom is struggling.
She regrets so much in life
She is worried about her husband, but the home wasn’t safe for either of them to live.
Sleep with a gun on your bedside table, not feeling comfortable in your home or around your husband’s family.
She doesn’t understand why her problem started.
Bipolar Disease and Lewy Body Dementia?
I’m not sick, where did this come from?
The doctors have spoken with her, but her brain can no longer fully understand.
Feels like the old her is slipping away.
Fighting her independence, fear slipping in.
The unknown is scary.
Accepting her daughters and son-in-laws as caregivers and protectors.
Barry and I are helpful and supportive, she doesn’tbknow how to accept assistance or be humble when needed,
This is not the way it should go.
She dreads becoming a burden, even though everyone tells her she isn’t, We also love her dearly.
She feels like nothing is wrong, until the terror sets in at night.
Hallucinations and living out dreams with family long gone.
Should be scary, but she enjoys seeing her visitors.
Mom hates medication, but it is working beautifully. Big improvementd, no more driving.
She’ll adapt, she didn’t need to drive anyway. She used to be a wee-bit scary behind the wheel
Life with mom, our big adventure.

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http://extraordinary-ordinary.net/2011/09/10/just-
write/

Daily Prompt: Say Your Name: Jill

Write about your first name: Are you named after someone or something? Are there any stories or associations attached to it? If you had the choice, would you rename yourself?

Photographers, show us  YOU. See photo gallery after post! Thank you!!

Good, bad and ugly….this is me……I pester people taking bad pictures of them, so one has chosen to pay me back. He knows, payback will be coming. Of course, that I have changed a lot since getting sick. Please do not laugh too hard!

Not only do I take terrible pictures, but I have a group of nick names I have collected through the years: Jilligan(because I am clumsy…..Jilligan-Gilligan), silly Jilly, Jillene, Chicken Legs, and my old favorite: four-eyes.

I was named after absolutely no one and my parents didn’t think of middle names, when we were born. They wanted us to pick out our own. When we chose what we liked, we then went through the legal process to have our names changed. It was a learning experience and kinda cool!

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Jill and Barry Baynes

Daily Prompt: Switcheroo

If you could switch blogs with any blogger for a week, with whom would you switch and why?

I’d choose Gooseyanne’s blog. Goosey has a delightful but quirky sense of humor that keeps you coming back. Her writing switches from deeply political, to fine art, to witty satire, and tales of her life with her husband, George.

Not only will she have you giggling one minute, you’ll be crying with her next post. She is a talented painter as well. She spins wonderful tales of her travels. While exchanging email with her, I discovered she is an incredible person. Goosey is offline for a bit, but will be back soon.

If she and I switched blogs, I hope I could do her justice, I have no doubt she would have fun with mine!

There is one other blogger I would switch with. I have great respect for both of these ladies as writers. I’m afraid I do not know enough about writing to keep up with the other blogger. Not saying one blogger is better than the other, they are just two totally different blogs.

Round Two Prep: Clearing the Margins

As my second trip under the knife, for breast cancer approaches, my mind is clear and worry free. I think of the tasks I need to complete before leaving in the morning, a sweet lady from church is taking mom to her appointment in the morning, Maggie will be taken care of when we leave, and my bag is packed. All Barry and I need to do is get up and leave.

Although my mind is clear, I’m not looking forward to even light anesthesia.  I’m not fully out of the last round and here I go again. Maybe it will flush out easily. I’m learning to enjoy water again. Maybe that is my lesson of the month, drink more water.

I need to be up by 4am, if I can ever get to sleep. I’m tired, but my head doesn’t want to stop. I’ll lay down in a few minutes. Barry is taking me tomorrow and he’ll be alone. Hopefully he will not be a nervous wreck. I worry anout him being alone. He is tolerating stress better than he used to.

Word of the Weekend: Tontine

May 26, 2013

tontine • \TAHN-teen\  • noun
: a joint financial arrangement whereby the participants usually contribute equally to a prize that is awarded entirely to the participant who survives all the others
Examples:
In the author’s latest suspense novel, the participants in a secret tontine begin to show up dead—one by one.

“He had become interested in an insurance scheme called a tontine, in which people pool their money and the last survivor gets the whole pot. But tontines were now illegal.” —From Alice Schroeder’s 2008 book The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life.

***Definitions provided by Merriam-Webster Dictionary App.

For the week of May 26, 2013, Writing through Cancer

Reclaim the sacred in your life.  Embrace quiet, the stillness.  Meander along a trail, near the sea, the woods, a long walk along city streets.  Take in the sights, sounds, smells, and movement.  Write about what you see—one single observation.  Describe it and let it take you wherever it takes you.

Sunday afternoon is my favorite time of the week. Mom knows Barry is watching Nascar, which means we get approximately 3 hours of total peace and quiet.  No interruptions, just Barry, myself and Maggie May. Oops….I can’t forget Shotgun, the fish.

Don’t get me wrong, having mom here is turning into a blessing. I feel better knowing she is close, since Barry and I have handled illnesses like hers, in the past. Although she can be challenging to deal with at times, she is my mommy and has a way of keeping life interesting around the house.

On Sunday afternoon, Barry and I veg-out in our chairs in the living room. Maggie will make the rounds from me, to Barry and then to the couch, where she will usually stay snuggled up in her blanket. She is the sweetest looking thing all snuggled up and sleeping.

The funny thing with our little pup, is that she poots (little squeakers) and snores like a sailor when sleeping. If you are sitting near her when the squeakers start, Move fast!

As Barry and I watch the race, I can hear the bubbling fish tank in the background. Noise from the street is minimal, most days. The weekends appear to bring out Motorcycle alley, on the road behind us. I think a local riding group meets at the clubhouse nearby to start there weekend ride.

We live in a beautiful area to ride. I enjoy hearing the motors ride by every weekend. Maggie doesn’t understand and spends time watching them out the window. Just precious.

As the racecars on the television make their preverbial left turn for the Nascar fans; the hum of the engines slowly makes my nap draw closer. I spend my time during the race talking with Barry, making a list of things I need to do for the week, and I work on my nails. When my body is to the point, that the hum of the engines makes me want to curl up with a pillow and blanket, I do! I usually sleep like a baby, until Barry wakes me up to get ready for church.

My house is not perfectly clean. It looks lived in. In my opinion, your home should be clean and lived in. There are a few clothes I need to hang up on the rocker. The pup keeps the couch turned upsidedown. Barry is quietly rocking in his recliner, close to napping himself. Mom is very quiet in the back. I need to checkmon her.

Here I sit, typing my post. If I’m not too sleepy, I’ll get my word for the weekend posted. Otherwise, I’ll play catch up all week. My everyone have a wonderful Memorial Day! Shake a soldiers hand and say thank you. Hope everyonenis blessed with weather as gorgeous as ours. Be safe!

My sweet Brother-in-law, Libor and my nephew, Jonathan

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I made a request to these guys this morning. They were closeby working and we needed help with a few things. I asked if they could stop by for a few minutes and lend Aunt Jill a hand, while Uncle Barry wasn’t feeling well.

I had 2 trees to plant and we needed a hole dug for the new mailbox. The Mailman is getting serious with his suggestions that we need a new one. Hint taken, we are working on it!

Libor and Jonathan blew through here mowed the grass, did the weed eating, trimmed a huge shrub, cut down a tree that was growing into the house, used the blower, and dug the holes I needed.  Jonny even put the trees in the holes for me. When it cools off a little, I need to go put water on them.

I thank the Lord daily for my family. Ask for a little help and get the works! The sweetest guys on earth!