Picks of Compassion

Hi, I'm Mary ~ Just
Mary  ~ from New Jersey. Seems fitting I am
doing the Guest Editor gig so close to Father's Day since
much of my journaling time(or so I've been told), from 2005
with my defunct journal, Francesco's Life, to my present
journal, I've allowed myself to be defined largely by my relationship
with my Dad.  I'm fine with that.  Francesco passed away on April 26th of
this year, with lots of love, dignity & Peace.  A good
relationship for me to be defined by.  So I thought I'd focus
on journalers who spend a lot of their time giving
to & building relationships that aren't so easy
& fun, but are well worth
it.  Loving well-bodied friends, relatives & children
is great stuff, but the reality for many people who need
compassionate care when they aren't so able-bodied & pretty is
quite different.

 

1) Jimmy, who also happens to be my Best
Father pick, has sacrificed a large part of his life(although he'd not
put it that way) to care for his ex-father-in-law.  He's been
cooking pancakes, answering  many "Jimmy!"
calls, sitting in too many doctors offices &... loving
right to the end, the way we'd all like to be loved. Pop
passed away peacefully on Sunday with Jimmy by his
side.  The Stupidsheet
Guy   (his blog)

Stupid
Too (his aol journal) We should all be so
stupid.

 

2) Paul isn't the
type of person who would readily highlight himself as a
caregiver in the manner in which I am
writing about it in this entry, but I have a feeling that
since his wife donated a kidney to her brother

...where's
the confounded [bucket]? (<read about that
here), things have been just a bit more rough than he'd cop
to.  Lots of us go on & on about what we do &
what we have to do, Paul just does it.

Aurora
Walking Vacation

 

3) Tammie
Lou is the recipient of the
caregiving(sometimes receiving is as complicated &
nurturing as giving) having been paralyzed from the chest down
as the result of a car accident.  A very changed life, but
also a very active one, complete with a new lovely home. Chippertue's
World <~ Now if Brodie,the escaping, ever
sniffing, cat hating dog, would behave..well, just
read about it.

 

4) Will
you still be blogging at 90?  Dorothy is, along with the help of her
son, & caregiver, Robert(his
blog~>  The
CareGiver ).  Dorothy has Alzheimers, but
has lots of fun, great birthday parties &
still prepares a mean tomato sauce. Dorothy Olive
DeMarco

 

5) Morton is
dealing with his own MS diagnosis while caring full-time for his
elderly mother.  He needs to take more frequent breaks & be a
little more gentle with himself, so go to his journal & tell him
that~> caring and sharing .

 

6) They
say we are all created equal but some of us are extraordinarily blessed
with more compassion than others. Meet Cathy.  She is an
online friend from long before either of us journaled. She is funny,
smart, & able to steer even my stubborn 
thoughts/reactions with her words. But she's sneaky, I
mean she's casual about
it. She's 
given better email caregiving to me prn, when I've felt as if
I were shouting in a wind tunnel, than I'd
have thought possible. Her journal is private, but if you email her at
carrotlife@aol.com
& promise her Pringles, she may let you in.  Cath does
other family caregiving that she rarely speaks about, so I won't tell
except to say how much I admire her, & how lucky I am to have
her as an
online friend of many years. Cathy's
Thoughts

 

 In the materialistic consumer culture in
which we live,  these beautiful people inspire me to reach a
little further with my own acts of kindness, & try a little
harder to be a person who will always honor the memory of her Father
& Mother.

                                                    
~Mary

 

Just
Mary