#family

“Christmas Plans Have Changed”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

And just like that, my Christmas plans have changed. None of my children will be home as we had all planned, thanks to a tricky virus that seems to be running rampant lately. I’m disappointed but have to be honest in telling you that I was beginning to worry about two of them flying right now and one is getting over having this little bug.

I’m sad that they won’t be home. It’s the first Christmas I’ve ever spent without even two of them home. 

This was supposed to be my “Christmas Miracle,” having them all together with me again but the Universe had other plans and I understand that. Still, it would have been the greatest gift for me to be together with all of them.

And I truly believe that Christmas lives within our hearts, remembering the memories of Christmas past and making memories of Christmas “present.” Whether we’re together or apart, my children will always be the Christmas that lives in my heart. 

This “staycation” has certainly been good for me because if I hadn’t had this time to myself I probably would have been more upset and sad about it all week. And I haven’t been. I’m glad they made decisions in their best interest and in my parents and in mine.

Christmas will be quiet, as was Thanksgiving, but I’m grateful to have another one. I’m grateful that I had this “staycation.” I’m grateful for the peace I’ve found this week.

And I’m grateful for all of you. 

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“Actions Make The Words True”

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Often times we take things for granted. We assume that the people we love know how we feel about them or how much we appreciate them. We assume that they know when we’re upset or that something they do bothers us. We assume that saying the words to them is enough…but it isn’t.

Assumptions. Nothing good ever comes out of them. It’s a breeding ground for misunderstanding, arguments and hurt feelings.

Words, on the other hand, can make a difference. Words communicate how we’re feeling to someone and  can prevent misunderstanding, arguments and hurt feelings.

Yet there’s something important about those words: you need  the actions to back them up because it’s those actions that make them true to the person you said them to.

Be mindful. Be compassionate. Be kind. Be understanding. Be willing to listen with an open heart and mind.

And be those things to the people you love.

And they’ll be all those things to you.

And never miss an opportunity to not only tell someone how you feel about them, but show them!

It’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Remembering The Last Day Of Chemo”

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It was three years ago today that I wrote the following post below. It was my last day of treatment for my breast cancer. It seems like that day was a lifetime ago but I’m forever grateful for closing that chapter. The journey of breast cancer may be over, but the lessons I learned have become a part of me. As I say “Chemo healed the cancer, but the cancer healed me.”

And it did…

“Today was my very last treatment of the “golden ticket” drug, herceptin, at the Cancer Institute in New Brunswick. The nurses celebrated my milestone by decorating the medicine bag with stickers, throwing pink confetti at me, and making me a “last day of chemo” sign! Even though chemo was done months ago, I’m grateful that my every three week treatment has come to a close. It was a day of celebration and tears as I said good-bye to my “Angels” who have been there with me since last August. They were my teachers, my mentors, and my friends as I went through this journey with them. They truly are “Angels” and I am forever grateful to them for all that they did for me. The last piece will be on Thursday when I have my port removed. So this is one time I will not say that a chapter is finished and a new one started; tonight I raise a glass of wine to “finishing this book, and never opening it again!”

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Don’t Take Gratitude For Granted”

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Life changes in the blink of an eye and what we have one day can be gone tomorrow. So often we allow life to get so busy that we forget to see what’s right in front us: the people who love us.

We know in our hearts that we’re grateful for them, yet so often that gratitude is put on the back burner and the ones we love are left feeling “taken for granted.” We all need love in one form or another, whether it’s from your family or children, friends or a significant other.

“Love lifts us up when life tries to pull us down.”

Take a look at your life at this very moment and count your blessings. Be grateful for the people in it that love and support you and for the life you are gifted to live every day.

Don’t let the world and all the sadness and craziness in it cloud the beauty in your life. Live your life everyday in gratitude for the people in your life, for the job you love, for the career you are pursuing. Be grateful for another new day in your life; another day in which you can share your love and gratitude with others.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Let’s Make A Chain of Gratitude”

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Every morning before my feet hit the floor I open my eyes and say out loud: “thank you for another day.”

And that’s how I begin each day, with gratitude for having been gifted another day, with gratitude for knowing that I have the choice to make the day the best I can and gratitude in knowing that I have the ability to make a difference in the world with love and kindness.

“Gratitude” keeps us grounded and reminds us of what’s really important in our lives. It makes us stop and think about what’s important and that the smallest of things in our day can become the biggest of things we’re grateful for.

Let’s start a chain of “gratitude” together. Share a post, comment

or a picture of what you’re grateful for at this very moment. It can be as small as your first cup of hot coffee in the morning or as big as surviving an illness. Gratitude isn’t about the size of what you’re thankful for; gratitude is the confirmation that you’ve taken a moment in your day to realize how blessed you are.

Live each day with an “attitude of gratitude” and watch how your life will change. All good things come to us when we focus on all the good in our life and not on the bad. Life is filled with ups and downs, good and bad, yet when we focus on all the ups and the good the downs and the bad becomes less important and easier to handle.

So, what are you grateful for today? Let’s share our moments together…we just might be able to make a difference in the world together by sharing our moments of gratitude with each other and the world.

Let’s make a “gratitude chain.”

It’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

 

“It Takes But One Moment…”

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Sometimes it takes one moment, one conversation, one word from someone else in which you find yourself “waking up” to something you weren’t seeing. It’s that moment which stops you in your tracks and makes you toss off the rose colored glasses and see the reality of a situation for the truth that it is.

And it can make you angry with yourself, it can hurt your heart, it can make you sad, but no matter the emotion it causes within you, it’s one that you need to deal with. You have to think about why you weren’t seeing what you needed to. You have to wonder how it all got to this point. And you have to understand your feelings and figure out what your role in getting to this point was. After all, we allowed it to happen. Maybe not consciously, but we allowed it.

And we allowed it because we lost sight of something that should be the most important thing: you.

It happens more often than not, and sadly, we don’t always see it coming…in fact we never see it coming until it’s here. What you do with it next is the key to moving forward: you have to forgive yourself.

Forgive yourself for making someone else more important and valuable than yourself; forgive yourself for allowing someone else’s life to hold more importance and value than your own; and forgive yourself for loving someone else more than you love yourself.

Forgive yourself for allowing someone else to care less about you than you care about them; forgive yourself for loving someone more than you love yourself; and forgive yourself for not seeing it.

And then try to understand why it happened; why you didn’t see it coming; and why you allowed it.

We do so many selfless things where love for our children, friends and significant others are concerned that we often lose sight of ourselves and that’s when your “waking up” moment happens. It’s the Universe’s way of telling us that we haven’t been paying enough attention to ourselves and that we let our love for other’s cloud our love for ourselves.

Call it a “wake up” call from the Universe or a nudge from your Higher Power, but regardless, it comes from a source that loves you unconditionally and that source wants the best for you.

Forgive yourself for allowing the moment to happen and embrace the beautiful mess you are for learning the lesson from it: never let anyone love you less than you love yourself.

You are just as important as anyone you place importance on; you are just as valuable as anyone you place value on; and you are as worthy of love as anyone you love.

It was yet another life lesson to learn and one to be grateful for, because it happened to help you have the best life possible. It’s never selfish to do what’s best for YOU because doing what’s best for YOU spills onto the ones around you that you love.

And always remember the most important thing of all:

YOU ARE AMAZING!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

 

 

 

“One Small Positive Thought”

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How do you start your day? You wake up, you get out of bed…then what?

I like to start my mornings outside just before the sun begins to rise. Everyone in the house is still asleep and it’s my most quiet time of the day. I grab a hot cup of coffee and venture out to my favorite spot in my backyard.

My brain isn’t yet racing with thoughts of what to do and what needs to be done, as if it’s a blank canvas just waiting for the coffee and my intentions for the day to kick in. As I sit in silence, enjoying the sights and sounds of an early morning, I think about this new day that’s upon me and feel gratitude. I feel grateful for another day, grateful for my family, and grateful for this alone time that we all need to have.

I keep my thoughts positive and know that when I allow the negative thoughts in they will  put a cloud over the positive ones. It’s amazing how powerful your thoughts are, but it’s truth. I know that my best days are the ones filled with positive thoughts and intentions.

Start your day with just one positive thought and see what a difference it makes in your day.

It’s a good thing…

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~