Home At Last...My Story Continues

Rev. 19:1 “ And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:”

Home at last...

Driving home for the first time in twenty days felt strange as I had not really been in the outside air except for the three-minute drive from nursing home to the hospital across the road. I opened the window and let the cool breeze kiss my face as the sun hugged me, welcoming me. Yes, there was sun instead of clouds on this day of my release from rehab.

I was a little nervous heading home because I had no idea what uncertainty was going to meet me at the door. All I knew was that it was home, and I was finally going there, a safe haven in which to rest. What felt like months in the hospital being shuffled from hospital to nursing home, to radiation on my leg, to the primary doctor and back to the hospital, it was all coming to a nerve-wracking end because I’d have to trust my husband on a different level more than anything right now.

My husband had been put through the wringer, thrown in the dryer and left there to wrinkle. In other words, this man was frazzled beyond recognition. I could see him in there but his mind, it looked as if it had been thrown in the frying pan and left to sizzle. No one noticed this, not his mother, his sister, no one but me and my son because we had to deal with him daily.  He was forgetful, distant at times, and extremely self-centered. He was trying to regain control of the world he lost,  something that looked normal but he knew, that time was a ways off in the months that lie ahead.

In the twenty days I was in the hospital he had locked his keys in the car at least three times, he had forgotten what I asked for from home almost daily and he had slept on the hard hospital sofa for ten days, not wanting to leave me alone in the hospital but was made to leave me in a nursing home and that laid guilt on him. I’m not telling you this so you can laugh and make fun, I’m sharing this because here was a dedicated-to-his-wife man, who had very recently put his dog to rest, now made to deal with his wife, not being the beautiful dependable homemaker that he fell in love with. He was wearing thin on many levels and it hurt me to watch.

Now he was driving me home where my care would be solely left up to him. Sure, a home healthcare nurse would come by twice a week, but as you know, there are seven days in a week. I  believe any man would be anxious in this situation where twenty days ago he didn’t know if his wife was going to live or die, it looked that grim from their perspectives. Sure his mom would offer to make a meal or two, but he needed more, more that none of us could give.

Now sitting in front of the house drew tears from my eyes like water from a well. I was no longer looking out a window hoping and praying, I was home, prayers answered. The tears flowed effortlessly before I even tried getting out of the car. Hubby was removing the wheelchair from the trunk, my son came from inside offering to help and I just wanted to sit there in the car and drink the reality of it all in. “Why not unload the car and let me sit here a few minutes?”

They complied and began carrying in vases and stuffed animals, blankets and clothes, boxes and bows. I was home. The shabby little rental house isn’t all that much to look at, but it has been my home for ten years, one where I made it a flower-rimmed home that even the owner of the property had mentioned how well tended this place was. Amazing what love can turn into beauty in the midst of ugly. I was home.

I called out to Riley, the dog who wandered onto the property two years ago as a stray and never left. Riley, who was nowhere to be seen, nor had been for some days the guys said. I called out and told her to come home, I’m here. She would come eventually, she always does. The guys said that when they put food out for her, it disappeared, but they never really caught a glimpse of her. 

I had to swing my pained legs out the door. I would need to get back into the car on Friday and all the days of doctor visits, so this has to go well! I pivoted to the wheelchair, gently sat, and after taking a deep inhale was pushed forward up my RAMP, that my bro-in-law built with no questions asked (or funds for that matter!)

Once safely in the front door, my eyes opened to a cascade of tears, I just sat and bawled my eyes out, crying, “I’m home! I’m home!” There was joy and fear, anxiety and pain but there was also my Lord waiting to carry any burden I brought home with me. 

I’ll continue this story in the coming weeks as I continue healing but today being New Year's Eve, you need to know how far I’ve come and am at on this day, two short months since I was released from what I deemed ‘the hellholes’!

My cancer markers have gone down drastically, leaving the doctors scratching their heads in amazement. The markers began in September at 2775, dropped in October to 1500, then to 875 in November! What do they mean? Cancer no longer likes living in my body- for now, I move on.

When I was released from rehab on October 5th, I was on a strict no weight-bearing regimen! I could not put any weight on my left leg and minimal on my right! 
Today, I still use the wheelchair but I walk with a walker (in the house and at physical therapy) and have just started practicing with a cane! 

My doctors, plural, have admitted that it was not just the oral-chemo that has had this miraculous change in my healing. Whatever I was doing (alternatively) was obviously in play here and working on healing me! 

The radiation I received for ten days was to my femur where they said cancer had spread, radiation zapped it away. More astonishing to the doc’s was the rare way my body was handling everything. No vomiting, eating regularly, no diarrhea, no pink peeling skin, no mouth sores, no fevers, etc. I was what the nurse said, “Our poster child for what stage 4 cancer healing SHOULD look like!" Words like awesome, amazing, fascinating were frequently heard with each office visit or from anyone I came in contact with really.

This weekend for the first time in three months, I reclaimed my home! Taking my time and being ever so cautious, I dusted and vacuumed, washed, dried, folded and put away two loads of laundry. I’m releasing my husband of those duties and hopefully, he can find healing also. 

What do I say is my source of healing? My God! Simply put, my AMAZING GOD! Prayer and the support of my friends and family. I never allowed my faith to wane, my trust in the Lord grew stronger. Through each pain, every sorrowful step that brought tears to my eyes, I cried out louder to my God, Thank you, Jesus! 

Now, what do I see for the NEW YEAR? My faith growing even stronger, my sharing of this miraculous healing with any and all, and I see the colors of the rainbow flourishing in my garden this spring. I see me walking around the house talking to my animals and giving my Riley plenty of belly rubs! Yes, she appeared when she sensed I was home. (It didn’t take too long)

I’m home… home at last! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR, my Spiritual Family! I could’ve never made it without your continued prayers and support!

Pss. 30:2 “O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.”

Me - Images

Prov. 15:31 "The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise."

This was me at three years old. What a cutie I was. They were my favorite slippers!

I was about 37 or 38 in this picture. It's a guess.

I was about 40 here

I'm 49 in our wedding photo!

51 years old. This was 8-21-17. Eclipse gazing

Summer of '17 and 40 lbs lighter than my wedding photo! 

God has been very good to me giving me a second chance to change the mess I made out of life.

Prov. 21:21 "He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour."

My Own Little World

My Own Blessed Little World

1 John 4:16 “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”

Out here in the middle of nowhere, I sit in my own little world. People expect me to be absorbed in the virtual world but no, it serves no purpose in my life so I sit in my own little world tapping on keys writing to my hearts content. 

The mornings here in this springtime world are bathed in sunshine, after almost a month of gray clouds and rain. The crisp cool mornings are still upon us where a light jacket is needed in the morning but by afternoon, no jacket is required, just sun, grass, and endless fields.

The pivots are making their morning stroll releasing a mist to the newly planted fields. Big-wheeled tractors are making their morning rounds discharging a fertilizer to protect the greenery from insects. Then there are the cottonwood trees freeing the clumps of cotton-like substance landing on the ground looking like a newly fallen snow.

Then there is the insect world. The spiders have been awakened from their winter slumber, the flies are mounting an army to attack any living creature in their way, and the hummingbird moths have made their appearance on my Salvia bush. Butterflies flit off in the distance inspecting the newly bloomed Marigolds that resurface every year. Note that marigolds are not perennials but the mild winters have been protecting the seeds as they fell from last year and so I am blessed with hundreds of marigolds each season.

I was in a bit of depression a few weeks ago and my one friend asked me what was wrong. I didn’t really give him any clear answer but sure enough, a week later he prodded further and I told him I was healing. I had been down for who knows what reason but I was now working on myself and finding healing. That’s a friend, who senses when you’re down and actually cares enough to poke in your business to see what the problem is and checks up on you to make sure you’re doing okay. 

He assured me that I am blessed and it hit home. I began counting the blessings in my life instead of focusing on what I can’t do. You see, I’m not an idle person; I always like to be moving whether planting in my garden, digging up weeds, mowing, cleaning, and doing laundry or whatever. I type/write in the few minutes of rest that my disabled body needs, then I’m back up moving around. 

My disability gets me down a lot of the times. I don’t even know what the disability is but I do know if I was pulled over and asked to take a sobriety test I’d fail for my inability to walk a straight line and not from alcohol either. My vision isn’t too good either so I stopped driving for my safety and the other drivers, too. I was diagnosed with arthritis in my back but after reading the M.S. symptoms, I’m not going to rule that out.

After I throw myself a pity party, I find a healing place in counting my blessings. I know this doesn’t sound like a blessing but my neighbor finally mowed down her waist high grass. Her riding mower needed blade repair and a push mower that she bought (so that she could lose weight, she told me) was too hard for her so she had her riding mower repaired and spent four hours for three days out there in the sun, stirring up my allergies, but I was feeling blessed by not having to see the eyesore any longer.

On the cooler days, I take advantage of getting outside, in my own little world. Sometimes I mow (carefully, knowing my limits) sometimes I just sit out there watching trucks roll by, other times I’m out there, counting my blessings.

While many people are consumed with what they don’t have, what they HAVE to have, what they WANT and what they’ll spend their money on, I’m here in my own little world counting my blessings of all that I HAVE! Cherishing the fact that I have all that I NEED and want for nothing but cool nights so I can continue sleeping with my windows open and the breeze chilling me so much that the quilt is pulled up to my neck!

I know spring will end and summer will arrive, and in my own little world, that will be fine by me! I’ll just continue to count my blessings!

Deut. 28:2 “And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.”

Do We Know the Future?

Luke 21: 21: 9 “But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.”

Sunday’s sermon touched on the false prophet who claims to know when the end of the world was near. We hear it all the time that these are the end times but keep in mind that during Jesus’ time the apostles and people all thought that they too were living in the end times. Every generation and false prophet claims that they hold the truth and know when the end times will be.

Matt. 24: 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

I realized many years ago that focusing on these false prophecies were only doing more harm than good. It kept me from focusing on God and by allowing myself to be led into this false prophecy satan is achieving his goal and that goal is: “The more lies I feed them, the more they believe what I’m saying and not listening to the truth that God has shown them.”

Let me ask, if you knew they day and hour that you were going to die, would you do anything different? Of course you would! But knowing that the Lord has a set day and time for the day of earth to end, you do nothing?

When a blizzard is said to be coming, people rush out and stock up on food, snacks and toiletries preparing to be hunkered down for days on end. Then the day arrives and not even a flurry lands on the grass, making you realize you prepared for nothing. 

That is exactly what false prophecy is, it gets you thinking the end is near and you prepare for it in fear and then it doesn’t come to fruition. Your fears were based on lies. Yes we can rest assured that God does not lie or instill fear in us, and the end WILL happen and we should only be preparing for our entry into heaven, not wandering about looking to see if the end is upon us so that YOU know (or think you know) when the end will come. God will let those who see, see and those that hear, hear.

There’s a terrorist group that is doing this same thing, instilling fear in people. I’m not going to name them because of course that showers more attention on them and I see that they get enough attention so I’ll let you think about it for a moment. God does not instill fear or terror and anyone who does instill fear is nothing more than a cowardly bully.

Think about it, satan instills fear. We fear death, we fear not measuring up, we fear losing our job and we fear everything and nothing. To live in fear of impending terror you give power to fear.  I hear people cursing God for creating them as worthless to society. I hear people cry in desperation for some kind of anything to help them get through trouble but note, they WON’T give power over to God. They would much rather allow satan run their lives into the pits of hell than admit they NEED God to reign in their life.

I know quite a few atheist (and no, it isn’t you because you’re reading me for the inspiration you seek) an atheist doesn’t have time for inspiration, I assume they only have time for living in fear. I’m not here to judge them because if they are happy, truly happy living that way, well more power to them.

I wonder why so many people are obsessed with when the end will happen. You know what I say? Live every day like it was the last day on earth and you won’t have to live in fear or worry when the end will come.

One of the things that I feel at peace with is that my dad didn’t fear death. When he went into the hospital he knew he wasn’t going to go back home. As much fighting to live the man did, he didn’t fear death even on his last day. With one of his last breaths he told my mother he loved her and I know he was at peace in going to his heavenly home.

No one can predict the future. Not even Jesus knew when the end was going to happen so listening to a minister say HE knows when the end is, you are just feeding his ego of lies. No one knows!!! When it ends, we should all be prepared, not in a panic state, not in a fearful state but in a peaceful state.

With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching and many people traveling the highways, the railroads and the skies, instead of going in fear of what MIGHT happen, go in love and be thankful for a family to go home to on the holiday. Be grateful for the time spent on this earth and cherish every last second because one never knows, it might be your last.

Read Matthew 24

Matt. 24:36 “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”

We're Married

Matt. 19:6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

It took some time getting here but we finally did it, we got married! I went over some of the things we’ve endured over the past thirteen years in an earlier blog post so I won’t go on repeating. I will say that after Steven got his sight back that is when things started to shift for us.

When I chose the date for when the marriage would take place, I had to have the numbers align. I know, I’m crazy, but just any old day was not good enough. This is a wedding, a marriage that will last a lifetime if we’re lucky so the date had to have SOME significance to it.

I chose May 13, 2015 for a reason, here goes: We’ve been together 13 years. My grandmother (and grandfather) who passed away when I was eight lived at 1313 and my Great Grandmother lived at 1315. 5-13-15 seemed significant. 13 years, 13 13, 13 15, the numbers just all looked right, so I picked that day. My grandmother died in March and my grandfather in May, May 22^nd to be exact but a friend of mine already had that as a wedding day. My other grandmother passed away on 3 15, so there you have it, all the numbers lined up for me.

Unbeknownst to me, when I told my niece of the day she said, “That’s cool, that is the day Matt and I got married!” I wasn’t back home when my niece got married so I didn’t remember her specific day of marriage but it made mine all the more significant.

The courthouse held significance because of its historic beauty. When we first arrived in Nebraska that was the courthouse we had to go to get my license changed over and Steven was having his put to sleep for a few years until his sight would be restored. The wood aroma that clung to every nook and cranny of the place was reminiscent of my childhood vacation Bible School. Isn’t it funny how those old smells will revive an old memory?

It is also the courthouse where I would file and be granted my divorce. Minden was now a part of my life. My marriage to Steven in the Minden courthouse would be planted permanently in my history book.

The judge asked if we wanted the marriage to take place in the courtroom, but I wanted it in between floors in front of a picturesque window. We had been there almost an hour and had only seen one person walk the stairs, so yes, in between floors was the perfect spot! My sister-in-law would take the pictures and my son and mother-in-law would be our witnesses.

The ceremony went off without a hitch (no pun intended) and we signed the legal documents and were on our way. Mom-in-law was treating us all to a meal at the place of our choice. I chose Applebees a lovely restaurant neither Steven nor I had been to before. The menus were served as were drinks and we had a most delicious meal, Steven with his steak and taters on the side, I with my chicken and shrimp smothered in garlic sauce with mushrooms and onions on the side. WOW! Then onto dessert; I think I gained ten pounds from that one meal! One meal that was SOOOO worth it!

The desserts were not of the normal cake and pie stature. No, this place had fancy-schmancy desserts. Steven had deep-fried battered pretzels, drizzled with caramel and an icing dip on the side! He had about ten to fifteen bites on the plate and I tried one and it was AWESOME! Me, I had a strawberry shortcake cheesecake with whipped topping! It was a small cup filled with delight. That is why I ordered it after eating such a hearty meal; I never eat dessert but this was too hard to resist.

We ate, laughed, giggled and chatted then we all parted. The in-laws brought Adam home and Steven and I went for a ride. Where to? I chose the cemetery where his father and grandmother are laid to rest. Steven hasn’t been there since we returned to Nebraska and I made a promise to his deceased father that I would see to it that Steven would be there when we got married. It seemed fitting to include his dad in the day in our small way.

Without all the intimate details, we ended the day with a movie. I chose You’ve Got Mail for obvious reasons to those who know our story. And today the 14^th we will venture out and see the movie that has been most anticipated to see on his list, The Avengers:Age of Ultron. I’m not a Marvel fan and The Avengers was a so so movie to me, but this is where the art of compromise comes in, in the marriage. I’ll go see it because he loves it! He’ll go see The Minion movie when it comes out in July. hahahaha

We woke this morning and I said, “Good morning, hubby.”

When he woke he said, “Morning Wife!”

And the story that doesn’t end… goes on and on my friends. 

*names/places changed for protection

Quotation Saturday ~ Love and Marriage

Rev. 19:7 “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.”

MARRIAGE

“It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.”
~ Friedrich Nietzsche

“To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow - this is a human offering that can border on miraculous.”
~ Elizabeth Gilbert

“The essential matrimonial facts: that to be happy you have to find variety in repetition; that to go forward you have to come back to where you begin.”
~ Jeffrey Eugenides

“Maybe you expected marriage to be perfect - I guess that's where you and I are different. See, I thought it would be all about making mistakes, but doing it with someone who's there to remind you what you learned along the way.”
~ Jodi Picoult

LOVE

“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.”
~ William W. Purkey

“We accept the love we think we deserve.”
~ Stephen Chbosky

“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.”
~ Bob Marley

HONOR

“Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.”
~ R.J. Palacio

“When you find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will stand in front of you when other’s cast stones, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who will hold your hand when your sick, who thinks your pretty without makeup, the one who turns to his friends and say, ‘that’s her’, the one that would bear your rejection because losing you means losing his will to live, who kisses you when you screw up, watches the stars and names one for you and will hold and rock that baby for hours so you can sleep…..you marry him all over again.”
~ Shannon L. Alder

“The most tragic thing in the world is a man of genius who is not a man of honor.”
~ George Bernard Shaw

“The greatest way to live with honour in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”
~ Socrates

CHERISH

“Cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey.”
~ Jack Layton

“But for the most part, love is a recognition, an opportunity to say, 'There is something about you I cherish.”
~ Raymond E. Feist

“I remembered every moment between us, and every moment felt more precious as time passed.”
~ Shannon A. Thompson

“Never let the little things, disrupt the biggest things you cherish in life. The smallest mistake, can cause the biggest regret and hurt to your closest companion.”
~ Unarine Ramaru

“I now pronounce you man and wife. These are the words I will be hearing this week as I embark on a new leg of this journey called life. My soul mate and I are going to ride off into the sunset of marriage. Will it be a blissful lifetime? I think it will be more on the lines a challenge. Marriage is a lifetime commitment to bring a new challenge, a new love, a new strength into every single day and grow. ~ I DO!”

~ Joni Zipp

Matt. 22:9 “Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.”

 

 

Poetry Sunday ~ Would have been ~ Eleven Years

Matt. 18:10 “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”

Eleven Years

Eleven years without you

An eternity in my heart

Eleven years of hurt

Too many years apart.

Eleven years I’ve cried

Each one without you here

Eleven years I’ve missed

But never missed a tear

Eleven years of a piece

That’s missing from my soul.

A baby girl I longed to see

Leaving me an empty hole.

Eleven years I’ve known your place

Is not here by my side

Eleven years you’ve walked along

In an angelic heavenly stride.

Eleven years that you’ve been gone

But one day we’ll be together

Never again to walk alone

We’ll fly like birds of a feather.

To you my beloved daughter

I cherish your time in me.

I await to be reunited

Where we’ll spend our eternity!

God Bless You, Astri Celia Brandt

Still Born: 4-26-04

 

 

Change

1 Cor. 15: 51 "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,"

I’m sitting here in the safety of my home warmed by heat as the snow passes outside my window. It’s making me think of the last minute shoppers that need to take a chance with life and to get out on the slippery roads.

I think of the older folk who flee to Florida to be in a warmer climate because the cold is too much for them to bear. I myself enjoy the cold winter air. I embrace four seasons, none of which I got when living in Texas where it felt like summer and spring year round.

We need change to appreciate living a life of blessings. If we stay the same year after year, continually living the same thing day after day, there doesn’t seem to be much room for growth. We can tell ourselves we’re changing, we can try to change but the mundane becomes normal and sometimes we see no need for change.

I hear quite a few Nebraskans wishing winter was already over but they remain in Nebraska knowing full well the winter and its harshness, so why stay? They stay because of home. People plant themselves in a home and stay for generations never leaving no matter how unbearable the space around them makes them cringe.

I’ve told the story many of times of my life back in Baltimore where I yearned deep in my soul to branch out and leave. Leave I did. I left all of my worldly possessions, and not so worldly possessions. I left behind years of memorable collections that then became junkyard fodder.

A lot of time has passed and I still miss certain things that meant a lot to me, stupid things to you but to me, cherished. I miss my very first Teddy Bear – Bith that I held onto thinking he’d journey with me in life. I miss my jewelry box filled with trinkets and stuff that my parents had given me over a span of my lifetime. I miss nic-nacs that I left behind. I miss, I miss, I miss but I let it all go. No longer mine, just memories of what was and will never be again.

While I see the world around me uncomfortable with change, I see a few who are willing to take the leap and give it all up for the love of God. While this year was and still is in the changing phases of my life, I have loving memories of what was and what will never be and what was not meant to be and what is to come.

I’ll end this blessed year with a changing of the calendar and a change within me. I’ll continue to grow and learn from all this craziness in the world, I’ll share my life as it unfolds if for no ones eyes but my own. Change to me is shedding of the old ways and making new and loving paths, my ways.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good write…

Quotation Saturday

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

After the week I’ve had, the one thing I cherished was the thought that my friends were out there somewhere, missing me as much as I missed them. ~ Joni

FRIENDS

“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”
~ Henri J.M. Nouwen

“Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.”
~ Albert Camus

“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”
~ Mark Twain

“I think if I've learned anything about friendship, it's to hang in, stay connected, fight for them, and let them fight for you. Don't walk away, don't be distracted, don't be too busy or tired, don't take them for granted. Friends are part of the glue that holds life and faith together. Powerful stuff.”
~ Jon Katz

FRIENDSHIP

“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.”
~ Jane Austen

“I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.”
~ Helen Keller

“Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.”
~ Muhammad Ali

“It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?”
~ A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

CHERISH

“Wounds heal. Scars fade. Awful memories can be overwritten with better ones if given the chance. The little imperfections of our psyches become overshadowed by the people whose love we cherish because they cherish us despite our faults; physical, emotional, spiritual, or otherwise. This thing we call the human condition with all its bittersweet blind corners and senseless humor evolves from within ourselves and not because of some pre-ordained reverie we desire to cast in the constellations.
All in all it is what makes life worth living.”
~ August Clearwing

“But for the most part, love is a recognition, an opportunity to say, 'There is something about you I cherish.”
~ Raymond E. Feist

“To love is to accept a soul entirely, not wishing that the person was otherwise, nor hoping for change, nor clinging to some ideal past. To love is to cherish the individual standing before you presently―charms, quirks, and all. To love is to give someone a piece of your heart that you will never, ever reclaim.”
~ Richelle E. Goodrich

“Cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey.”
~ Jack Layton