Author: Anne Dennish

“I Had a Little Health Scare”

/ Anne Dennish / 8 Comments

There’s something I’d like to share with all of you and I’m hoping that my experience helps save a life or prevent the loss of one.

After Thanksgiving dinner I started to have a back ache. It felt like a pinched nerve on the left side of my back. I woke up Friday morning with the pain worse and it was now on both sides of my back. Silly me, I went for a pedicure just to use the massage chair in the hopes that it would help my back. It didn’t.

Saturday night the pain was extremely bad in my entire back and had now moved around to both sides of my upper chest. I slept sitting up on the couch because I couldn’t lay in my bed or roll from side to side. It was a struggle to get to the bathroom and I needed help just getting my pants on. The pain became excruciating and the muscle relaxers I had did nothing to help. I called the doctor on Tuesday for something that could help but they wanted me to come in on Thursday, which I did.

My doctor did an EKG and said that I may have had a heart attack or was about to have one or possibly a stroke. I was rushed to the hospital and admitted. After x-rays, a CT scan and ultrasound, the verdict was in. I did not have a heart attack but had blood clots in both lungs and one in my leg. I have NEVER felt such fear in my life. It made breast cancer seem like nothing but a bad dream. THIS was a nightmare!

I’m happy to say that I’m feeling better! I’m on medication and am able to walk up to 20 minutes a day now without chest pain or shortness of breath and am so grateful for that!

I went to my doctor a week later for a check-up. She hugged me and said that I had had a “near death” experience, which is why I was feeling more emotional than usual. She also told me that most people wouldn’t be alive after staying home with that much pain and those symptoms for eight days like I had, and that someone on the other side was watching out for me. She also believed that it was a sign that it just wasn’t my time! 

She saved my life and there are no words to thank her enough, so I will share this experience with you in the hopes that you will not ignore symptoms such as these like I did. I still sit here some days and can’t believe I didn’t do something sooner, but it’s done and over with and I’m here, thank God. Now, it’s time to get on with life and life is even more precious than it was. 

I say to all of you, don’t take one day for granted and don’t take the people in your life for granted. If you think of them throughout your day, let them know. If you love them, let them know as often as you can. And never, ever, take someone you care about for granted.

That’s my story and it’s been quite an eye opener for me. It’s changed me in many ways and I will certainly share those changes with you as time goes on. 

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“What’s Your ‘Word’ for 2024?”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

Every year on New Year’s Eve I pick out a “word” to follow me into the new year. It’s a word that will help to keep me motivated, inspire me when I’m feeling less than inspired, and remind me of the reason I picked it in the first place.

This year I am picking the word “hope.”

Hope that this year will bring peace into an unsettled world. 

Hope that we can all work together to spread love and kindness to one another. 

Hope that there will be less illness and more cures to those fighting them.

Hope that we will all strive to be the best version of ourselves that we can be.

Hope that there is more forgiveness and less blame.

Hope that we focus more on gratitude for what we do have instead of focusing on what we don’t have.

And hope that I can make a positive difference in this world and in the lives of others.

I have big dreams for this year and my hope is that they become a reality.

What’s your word and why did you choose that particular one?

I’d love to know and would be grateful if you would share it with me!

~Anne Dennish~

“New Year Revelations for 2024!”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

(Just a little something that I share with you every year!)

“Resolutions are promises you don’t often keep. Revelations are lessons you learn that can change your life.”

I learned that the only way for my life to change in the New Year was to think about the lessons that the year had taught me. Those lessons became my “New Year Revelations.”

Every year I notice that as the New Year approaches, people start talking about their “resolutions.” There are things they want to do and things they want to change in their life, so they make a list of “resolutions.”

I threw that concept out years ago because to me, resolutions were nothing more than making promises to myself that I couldn’t keep. They were goals for sure, but seriously, how many of us actually stick to those resolutions? I always tried, failed at some, then beat myself up for not doing what I had wanted.

So, years ago I realized that the only way for my life to change was by learning the lessons that life had handed me, learning from my mistakes, and learning from my experiences, and so I decided to have my “New Year’s Revelations!”

I ask myself some important questions throughout the month of December: What opened my eyes this past year? What did I learn about myself? What type of people am I surrounding myself with? Am I taking care of myself and loving myself enough or giving too much of myself away? And what do I need to let go of that has no place in the New Year coming up and in my life?

These are the questions to ask yourself and answer honestly. You see, when you have those “revelations” about yourself and the year that’s about to come to an end, you take those lessons and truths with you. When you do that, the New Year will open the door to endless possibilities.

Don’t put added stress on yourself by making “resolutions.”

Take the time to think about your “revelations” and begin the New Year in a positive light.

All things are possible if you just believe in yourself!

Wishing you all an amazing 2024! You got this! I know that you do!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Give Me the Simple Life”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

Can you believe that this year is almost over? Time sure flies by quickly and I find that the older I get, the faster it flies, which is why it’s even more important to make my life as simple as possible so that I have more time to enjoy life.

Sounds wonderful doesn’t it? It does to me and I know that in order for a “simpler” kind of life to happen, we need to put in a little bit of effort.

One of the things I love to do at this time of year is to begin a journey of “decluttering” my life and I’m not just talking about materialistic things. We need to declutter our minds as well. Any type of clutter can make for stress and imbalance in our lives and when we take the time to “declutter” we’re taking care of ourselves. It’s also a  wonderful opportunity to clean out the clutter from the past year to make space for all the “new” things that the upcoming year will bring.

It’s a good time to clean out your drawers and closets to donate items that someone else may get better use of. It’s also a great time to go through your stacks of papers, clean out your in-boxes, and re-evaluate your friends list on social media. It’s time to get rid of that stagnant energy so that you can replace it with exciting and positive energy.

It’s a good time to clear out the clutter that exists around you and within you. It’s time to open up space for new and exciting adventures to happen. 

Here’s to getting ready for the New Year, one that I hope is filled with lots of love, happiness and promise for all of you!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Twas The Morning of Christmas”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment
“Twas The Morning Of Christmas”

“Say What You Mean, But…”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

“Say what you mean and mean what you say, but don’t be mean when you say it.”

I’ve always loved this saying and taught it to my children as they were growing up. Not everyone holds to this. There are people that will say what they mean in a cruel and hurtful way. Words are nothing to play around with. It’s the hurtful words that will stick with the person you said them to for a long time, if not a lifetime.

I listen to whatever anyone has to say to me, my children included, but I will not tolerate being talked to in a cruel and hurtful manner. My boundary is “say what you mean but don’t be mean when you say it,” and if what they’re saying to me turns ugly, that’s the end of the conversation. I’m not going to allow someone to verbally beat me up or use me as a whipping post. I respect the boundaries of others and they need to respect mine.

We all run into people that will be cruel and hurtful, trying to cut us down but if there’s one thing that I realize about them it’s this: they’re the ones with the real issue. They’re cruel words are born out of their own feelings about themselves. Maybe they’re lacking self-esteem and are jealous. Maybe they aren’t willing to take their own accountability and instead, throw it back on someone else.

Please, my loves, in a world that can be less than kind, YOU be kind. Be respectful of someone else’s feelings but also be respectful of your own boundaries. 

We can’t change the life of someone overnight, but we can continue to try through kindness, love and compassion.

Be the change you want to see in this world. Be the one who plays a part in healing the world. Be the one who tries to make a difference…and together, I believe that we can.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“One Year In Florida”

/ Anne Dennish / 4 Comments

Today marks one year that I’ve been in Florida and what a year it’s been. Eleven days after I moved here Hurricane Ian, a Category 5 hurricane, hit and I had to grab my parents and evacuate to the East Coast until it passed. Happily, I had minimal damage done to my little Florida house!

It’s been a year of trying to find my balance and my place here in Punta Gorda. My significant other stayed up North for six months before he moved here. I’ve tried to find part-time work and have ended up with some crazy jobs. It’s been quite an experience, to say the least. 

I did learn some interesting things about living in this area.

Florida has no cold water in the summer months, due to the extreme heat. The most you’ll get out of your faucet is warm water. 

Porches are called “lanai’s” which drives some of my friends crazy when I say that.

Most bars have a last call at 9:30 pm and close at 10. 

Onions are very strong here and if you cook them I can tell you that you will smell them in your house for over 24 hours!

I learned that lightning can, indeed, strike a car because we saw it happen while driving.

Some of the great things are that you can eat outside at almost every restaurant all throughout the year.

Though the summer is hot, the fall, winter and spring are beautiful. 

I love thunder and lightning and this is definitely the place to witness some beauty in the storms here.

The clouds are absolutely stunning at sunset.

I’ll never get used to alligators and snakes. I do love the sounds of the pack of coyotes that live at the end of my street, especially during a full moon when they howl for quite a long time.

Here’s to Year #2 in Florida. It’s taken me this last year to get used to it, but I’m working on it. I still miss the beach at the Jersey Shore but know that I’ll make it back there at some point.

Here’s to change, finding the positive in it and making the best of it.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Support”

/ Anne Dennish / 3 Comments

Support. We all need it in our life at times. We need the support of our family and friends, we need the support to help a dream come to fruition, and sometimes we just need support to get through a bad day in our life.

Do you support others? Are you there to share in a dream that someone needs help with so that it becomes a reality? Are you there to support someone, without judgment, on a bad day?

We should all try to support others in whatever way they need at that moment, be it a listening ear, a kind word, or a conversation that helps inspire and motivate them. Are you?

This world would be such a different place if we offered our support, practiced kindness, compassion and empathy. 

I’ll do whatever it takes, in whatever way it takes, to make this world a better place, to help someone through a bad time and to support someone who needs to know that they’re worthy of the dream that they’re pursuing.

Will you?

We’re all in this together. We’re all in a place to help one another. We’re all capable of doing great things with small gestures of love.

Let’s do this.

And let’s do this together. 

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Book Signing in Buttonwood”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

I had my first book signing for “The Mind of a Heart” last weekend here at Buttonwood Village in Punta Gorda, the community that I live in. It was so nice to see so many familiar faces come out to support me and to meet new ones. The morning was a great success!

Thank you to those of you who came out to support me and purchase a copy of my new novel. I can’t wait to hear the reviews! And a special thanks to my Dad who came out to support his daughter. 

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~