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Winter Wonder: Holidays Without My Mom by Laura Moseley
“A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.” – Cardinal Meymillod
My mother fought ovarian cancer and fought valiantly. She beat Stage IV cancer once, was in remission for over eighteen months…and then I received a phone call I never wanted to hear. My Dad stated, “Your mother’s cancer numbers are not getting better. She’s decided not to continue treatment, babe.”
“Um,” I said trying to clear my throat instead of sobbing. “So, she’s…dying?”
“Well, essentially, yes. The doctors give her two to six months, honey. She says if her treatment is not working, and all its doing is making her sick, she doesn’t want to live that way,” he explained.
I was numb after that phone call. My head knew she was right, but I was having the damnedest time convincing my heart. She was living life on her terms, which I respected, but also living on borrowed time.
We spent Easter with her, where she got to see all of us and to see and hold her great-grandson for the first and last time. She was small and shrunken and a pale shade of yellow, and yet she was the most beautiful and brave soul I’d ever seen. She was happy we were all together, but she was also unafraid.
She passed away in June and I am bereft. I mean, I’m nearly fifty years old, but I feel like a small lost child who got separated from her mother at a department store. I simply don’t know where to turn. I could always talk to her about all aspects of being a mother. She never judged me harshly and always had a proposed solution when I was talking out my dilemmas, even concerning mothering a child on the autism spectrum (which she never had to do herself). Now, all my conversations are one-sided. Now, all my questions go unanswered by anyone but me. Now, I am the elder Mom, the grand dame. I am the one who is supposed to have all the answers…
What are the winter holidays going to be like without her???? She has always been a key role in the holidays, just as prominent as Santa Claus himself. She made things happen: she cooked, she decorated, she wrapped presents, she sang, and she recounted stories of holidays past. What NOW?
Of course, she will be there. In spirit, in stories, and fellowship. She is a part of everyone in my family, so naturally, she is there with us. It’s definitely not going to be the same and may be very difficult at times. I believe that Thanksgiving, Chanukah, and Christmas — the three most family-oriented holidays allow our loved ones to come and sit amongst us again.
I just know that it will NEVER be quite the same celebration again…as I feel as though winter has set in on my emotions, but I will carry on because I am now a Nana and with my new grandson, Christmas will regain its magic once more…
Battle-Scars: Hated. Isolated. Wronged. Disregarded.
Those WERE some of the challenges faced by the authors of GOD Says I am Battle-Scar Free.
PRIZED! ESTEEMED! CHOSEN! POLISHED!
With a personal relationship with God, that is how those same people feel today.
In this seventh and final installment of the Battle-Scar Free series, testimonies are shared from women and men who have “been there, done that.” They come from various walks of life but share one common story: They are SURVIVORS.
Amid a global pandemic (COVID-19), these contributors sought and found healing of their hearts, minds, and souls. Through the expression of their truths, you will be inspired to fight another day. Despite the obstacles they faced, the power of their words and belief in an Almighty God attributed to their very survival.
A single mother of three and grandmother of one, as well as a Domestic Violence/Sexual Violence survivor of over 23+ years of abuse. She works for a federal social services organization by day and is a certified DV advocate in the rest of her spare time. She is a writer, blogger, future podcaster, activist, and public speaker. She loves getting her story out there, to help show victims and survivors that there is hope and that it is SO much better than ever imagined while in active abuse.
Buy the book at Amazon.
A TRANSFORMATIONAL MEMOIR OF LOVE AND LIGHT.
Born in the Philippines, Lani Gonzales immigrated to Virginia, USA, with her family when she was only two years old. Determined to emulate her parents’ discipline and ambition, Lani worked through college and law school and is now a practicing partner in a successful law firm in Tampa, Florida. A world-traveling, volunteering, energy-healing, aspiring hypnotherapist, Lani is committed to using her light as a beacon to help others find theirs.
Some have a room—or rooms—dedicated to their collection. More than one has converted a room to a replica of Holmes’ sitting room at 221B. Compared to those enthusiasts, my own collection is quite meager and could be displayed on just a few shelves. I have a plushy Pikachu doll with a deerstalker cap, a phrenology model (almost always in the background in 221B scenes), and the first-day issue of a series of Sherlock Holmes stamps from the UK. I also went on a search (and found) a ceramic figurine and some teapots in a likeness of Sherlock Holmes. This list doesn’t even include the different books on Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Victorian England I consult for the essays I write each month.
Of all, my favorite, however, is a set of nesting dolls I purchased at a Sherlock Holmes conference. It’s special because it represents the intersection of my professional and writing lives. From 1990-1995 I worked for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Moscow. It was a heady time—Russia was moving toward a market economy and democracy. I was involved in assistance to the education and health sectors as innovations were introduced in both. Nesting dolls are an iconic part of Russian culture, and we purchased quite a number while there. When you visit a market, you will find sets range from only a few figures (three-five) to twenty or thirty. They can be simple or quite elaborately painted and decorated. My Sherlock set holds Sherlock, Watson, Lestrade, Moriarty, and the famous hound of the Baskervilles (the smallest).
Be as smart as Sherlock Holmes!
Liese Sherwood-Fabre knew she was destined to write when she got an A+ in the second grade for her story about Dick, Jane, and Sally’s ruined picnic. After obtaining her PhD, she joined the federal government and worked and lived abroad for more than fifteen years. Returning to the states, she seriously pursued her writing career, garnering such awards as a finalist in RWA’s Golden Heart contest and a Pushcart Prize nomination. A recognized Sherlockian scholar, her essays have appeared in scion newsletters, the Baker Street Journal, and Canadian Holmes. These have been gathered into The Life and Times of Sherlock Holmes essay collection series. She has recently turned this passion into an origin story series on Sherlock Holmes. The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife, the first book in The Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes series, was the CIBA Mystery and Mayhem 2020 winner.
Since the dawn of time, electromagnetic energy has permeated through the universe, surrounding and interacting with everything it touches, illuminating, destroying and giving life.
Scott’s passion for light and the electromagnetic spectrum began in his early teens while tinkering with electronics as a hobby. He was formally introduced to the lighting industry while studying Electrical and Electronics in Sydney, Australia, and in 1998 he started his career making custom light fittings and lamps in his dad’s garage. Formal lighting design qualifications expanded his opportunity to help project-manage and design on many industry levels.
TMJ clicking. Jaw locking. Headaches. Migraines. Ear pain. Stiff Neck. The evidence is overwhelming: the roots of these issues may be caused by your TMJ! TMJ is the name of the joint of the jaw, and groundbreaking research has now revealed that it may be the cause of many chronic pains we suffer. TMJ is the second most common musculoskeletal pain, and as many as 1 in every 3 people will experience TMJ pain in their lifetime. For the longest time, people suffered in silence with TMJ pain, but new breakthrough advancements in research and treatment reveal that you can life a life TMJ-pain-free!
A spirit guide.
Mike spent more than forty-five years in the stock brokerage business as a floor governor on the Vancouver Stock Exchange, and vice president of trading for a local brokerage house. Things began falling apart for him, including burnout, marriage separation, and financial worries. Mike left the business in 2008 and got a job at a local hospital as a security officer. He had been interested in metaphysical matters at an early age, but life interrupted further studies as his work and marriage took over more of his time. The Universe interceded when everything around him seemed to be falling apart, and his spiritual journey assuredly began.
This book has been a self-reflective journey of a medical doctor as an ordinary person going through ordinary life’s ups and downs. In epistolary form, its articles were written during the special time of her first year of training to become a general practitioner/family physician, including making the tough decision to give up hospital specialist training, “withdrawing” from fast-paced hospital work, transitioning to working from a metropolitan hospital to a rural community clinic, witnessing and getting used to a younger sibling’s growing up, and being independent from a close and loving family. Some also feature a promotion of the author’s new academic career at the start of the COVID 19 pandemic and how it was perceived. The book shows a journey of love, strength, perseverance, purpose and encouragement. Lots of anecdotes, lots of stories, lots of quotes. With love and respect.
