Gratitude

“When Doves Fly”

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I’m always amazed when life offers you a “you don’t see that too often” moment! I had such a moment this morning. The windows are all open and I decided to finish my book while having my morning coffee. I heard a car stop right in front of my porch and three men hopped out with a crate. One of the neighbors was walking by and I heard them say to her: “Do you want to watch us release our homing pigeons? We’re really excited!” Of course, she said “yes” and I immediately put my book down and went out onto my front porch.

They gently opened the crate door and two beautiful white pigeons, also known as “release doves,” flew out. I watched them fly far away and within minutes turned back. It seems that one was completely trained and is teaching the other one to return home. They lived a few miles from here and were going back home to where they would return.

This was truly one of those “you don’t see that too often” moments in my life because I have never seen that before. 

It was such a beautiful sight to see, and I read that two doves flying together represent peace, harmony, companionship, support, hope and love. What a beautiful meaning!

Happy Sunday and I hope you have a “you don’t see that too often” moment in your life.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Good Morning”

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Start your day with an “attitude of gratitude!” It’s a good thing.

Wishing you a wonderful day filled with love, happiness and lots of endless possibilities!

Anything is possible if you just believe!

~Anne Dennish~

“On Turning 63”

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It’s been quite an amazing day today. I’m feeling extremely blessed for this next “trip around the sun” that I celebrated today. I am grateful for each and every day that I am blessed to wake up to and today was an especially good day as I turned 63 years old. 

My day was filled with wonderful well wishes from friends and family and ended with an awesome dinner sitting by the water in the warm and sunny weather in Florida.

Life is passing by more quickly than I had ever imagined that it would, but there is something about getting older that makes me appreciate every moment of every day that I’m blessed to see, that makes me stop sweating the small stuff and appreciate ALL of the stuff, and makes me realize that NOW is the time to truly make a difference, to love with all that I am, to laugh every chance that I get, and to be grateful for every moment of every day.

Here’s to each of our “trips around the sun.” 

I’m so grateful for each and every one of you.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Every Day Is International Women’s Day!”

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International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and today I want to celebrate ALL women: the mothers, grandmothers, the dreamers and the doers, the lovers and the friends!

Today is a day to celebrate all women who make a difference in this world and to remind you that you ALL make a difference. You make an impact on the world just by being here and today I want you to celebrate YOURSELF!

You matter, you count, and you are important!

Take a moment today to celebrate YOU and all that you do in this world, in this life, on this day!

It’s a good thing!

Happy International Women’s Day!

You are amazing and you are my heroes! 

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Through The Eyes of a Child”

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If there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout my life experiences is that more often than not, my children were right. They were right when I thought I was right. They were right when I thought they were wrong. They, as my children, could see things that I couldn’t, at least until time showed me just what it was that they could see.

“Through the eyes of a child…”

My children are all grown now yet I can look back and remember times that they had a strong opinion about a situation that I was in or about something I was doing. At the time I thought that they were just children, they couldn’t possibly know what I was going through.

But the truth is, as children they didn’t have to know.

As children they could see through their eyes of innocence.

As children they could feel that something was wrong for their mother.

As children they had a sixth sense, one that as I’ve grown older I wish I’d paid more attention to or listened to.

We often dismiss the opinions of our children simply because they are our children. I’ve learned through time and experience that that isn’t always true.

Sometimes our children see what we, as adults, can’t.

There are days that I wish I had listened to their opinion and feelings, yet if I do that I’d end up living a life of regret but instead just take my accountability that I was wrong.

There were so many times that I should have listened to them.

And for what it’s worth, I’m listening now.

And for those times I hope that they can forgive me.

I try not to regret those times but instead consider them a learning experience, a life lesson, if you will.

There are no perfect mothers or fathers but there are mothers and fathers that try their best.

And that’s what I’ve tried to do.

Sometimes my best wasn’t good enough yet it’s all in the past. As long as I’ve learned from it, that’s the best I can do.

I wish, as adults, we could see life “through the eyes of a child.”

But there’s always hope that we can still learn how.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Ten Year Breast Cancer Survivor!”

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There are some days that are more special to you than others, and today is one of those days for me. 

Today I am officially a “10 Year Breast Cancer Survivor!” To say that I am grateful is an understatement. There are no words to express my gratitude to be blessed with this special anniversary.

Time is certainly flying by and I am doing my best to embrace each and every day that I am blessed to see and be a part of. I hope that you are doing the same.

I’m sending lots of love to all of you today and always.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“When You Feel Like Crying”

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Do you ever have a day when you just want to cry? It could be for a million reasons or no reason at all. It’s just a day that you feel sad for everything or for nothing and I’m having one of those days.

I’ve been trying to talk myself out of this mood all day but I’ve decided to let it have its day and have its way. It was taking too much energy to try and push myself out of it so I decided to just go with the flow of emotions.

I feel as though I’ve been fighting back the tears all day and I’m sure that the moment I leave work they’ll come spilling out.

Sometimes we need to have a good cry to let “the healing waters flow!”

I also know that “this too shall pass.”

Sometimes it passes with the listening ear of a compassionate and empathetic friend.

Sometimes it passes while sitting in stillness at your “happy place.”

And sometimes it passes with a hot bath and a good night’s sleep.

Give it some time.

Be grateful for the happy days and even for the sad ones, because each day that we’re here to feel them is a gift.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish

“I Wanna Go Back and Do It All Over”

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Do you ever hear a song on the radio that takes you back in time? One that transports you to a time when you were younger and life seemed much simpler?

It’s that song that brings you back to a precious memory, of a time when you remember being so carefree and happy.

For me it’s a song sung by Eddie Money that makes me think that “I wanna go back and do it all over, but I can’t back, I know.”

But I can’t go back. None of us can.

What we can do is hold onto those memories from a lifetime ago.

Keep them safely tucked inside of your heart.

And don’t lose sight of “now.”

When life isn’t going the way we had planned, or we’re feeling sad or depressed, or as though we’ll never be happy again, we often go back to those times.

We all do.

But don’t go back to those times and wish that you were there again.

Visit those times to remind you that you have been happy and that life was all that you wanted it to be at that time.

And let those times remind you that you can have that in the “now.” You didn’t leave happiness in your past. It was simply a different time in your life that taught you what “happiness” feels like.

Take those feelings of old memories with you into your “now.”

And let your “now” guide you into your “future.”

Life is a series of memories, good and bad, a series of life lessons, easy and hard, and a series of ups and downs. Experience is a great teacher and memories are gifts that we are given along the way.

Go back and visit if only to remind you that your “now” is just as precious as your “then.”

And remember to be grateful for it all.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“When You Weather the Weather”

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This story is for those of us that stay home during a rainy day or to all of you folks throughout the country dealing with snow, ice, and extreme freezing temperatures right now!

And it’s about how we can embrace the weather that tends to confine us to our homes.

Yesterday was a very cold day here in Florida, with non-stop torrential rain, and you know what? I was grateful for it! I turned on the soundtrack from “Under The Tuscan Sun” and cooked my homemade Italian gravy (or sauce, as some of you may prefer) with meatballs and sausage for almost eight hours. I even managed to make time to READ a book between stirring and tasting the gravy. It was a glorious, “no pressure, stay at home” cozy kind of day, and I loved every moment of it!

I know that we all grumble at times when the weather in our area confines us to our homes, but if you change your perspective on the situation, you may actually embrace and enjoy your time at home.

I love that feeling of knowing it’s a good day to stay home. It’s as if the Universe gave you permission to stay home, change your routine, relax and enjoy! It’s a day to stay in bed with the paper and your morning coffee. It’s a day to curl up with a good book in front of the fireplace, or in your favorite chair. It’s a day to stay in your pj’s or cozy in your most comfortable sweats all day. It’s a day to turn off your computer and turn on your favorite movies. It’s a day to cook your favorite comfort foods and sip your favorite hot tea.

It’s a day to do whatever you want and how often do we allow ourselves to have that kind of day?

Be grateful for the weather that keeps you home for a day or two.

Be grateful that you’re home safe and sound.

And be grateful that you’re here to embrace the day, no matter the weather.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“I Had a Little Health Scare”

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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~