TOTW 11, 30, 31, 32
I did an all–in–one response to TOTW 1 thru 30 In this entry. There were two that I couldn’t answer at the time because I hadn’t reached that part in my story. So I’m catching up.
| 11. | If you could change one choice you made in your life, what would it be? |
| I would have chosen Adina over Bob. You can read about that here. | |
| 30. | Tell us about a time you had to save yourself. |
| This answer is tied in with my answer to number 11. You an read about me saving myself here. | |
| 31. | Tell us about an act of kindness |
| If you’ve been following my Diary, you know that I consider myself exceptionally blessed. I have been the beneficiary of many acts of kindness. When I was diagnosed with cancer and couldn’t work, I swallowed my pride and asked my friends for help. Some came to my door with cash gifts. One friend mailed me checks for $20 every few weeks. It was all so overwhelming and I have thanked them over and over again. The one that really touched me, though, was a gift I received from a girl I haven’t seen since we graduated high school together in 1989. We were friends in school, but we didn’t really hang out outside of school. But when we found each other on Facebook, I was happy to see her doing so well in her life. She was following me on Facebook and a journal I was keeping about my diagnosis and the whole experience. On day I came home and found a large box from Amazon Pantry on my porch. It had two 50 lb bags of Purina Dog Chow for my babies, and several cans of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle, which was the only thing I had been able to keep down for a while. | |
| 32. | What advice would you give your teenaged self? |
| I have a hard time with this question. I made a lot of bad choices, but I’ve learned important lessons from all of them. The lessons wouldn’t be as powerful if I hadn’t experienced the pain, sorrow, and guilt that I did in the moment. Having experienced these painful things has given me a tremendous amount of insight that I am able to pass on to those who come to me for advice and comfort. Even the ugly things that I’m ashamed of give me insight and remind me not to judge.
My bad choices gave me perspective when looking back on my mom’s bad choices. That perspective made it easy for me to forgive those things that had hurt me. I adore my mother and I have no doubt that she would die for me. So I think I would maybe just pat my teenaged self on the shoulder and tell her that it all gets better. Just hang in there. |