Finding Our Happy Place

When the third person in 10 days asked me if I had quit blogging, I knew it was time to get back here. I don't know why I expected life to get easier after the transplant. Wishful thinking. Of course in certain respects it has--after all, I'm still here and breathing--but there have also been ER visits and hospital trips, 'down time' emotionally and physically, and other fall-outs with family issues and attendant life dramas.

In just one day, for example, we learned our majority-share partner in the Sanctuary property is forcing the sale of the land. Just two short hours later, my dad fell and had a concussion, and my Aunt from FL died unexpectedly. That was a day! Dad's better now, though falling where he has had  two previous brain surgeries means a slower than expected recovery.

Our partner's lawyer suggested in one conversation we "sell the mustangs." Wow. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask a (supposedly) learned attorney what definition of the word 'sanctuary' he didn't understand. But I held my tongue so not to antagonize the man. You'd have been proud.

Obviously, the welfare of the mustangs are our utmost concern. So if there's a possibility we can buy the land and buy the partner out we will. We have been planning to sell this house and build a smaller 'retirement' house anyway. But now there is a crucial time-frame, with mortgages and loans involved. And my long dread and loathing of banks is intensifying. Adding to the stress we are in the midst of plans for a May 31 and June 1 fundraiser we need to pack both theaters for. Kinky Friedman will be performing for the benefit, fresh off his European tour.*

I am also negotiating with Emory to have my drug infusions done locally. We can't continue to drive 10 1/2 hours to Atlanta every month--a costly and time-consuming endeavor.

So blogging has clearly fallen off the charts a bit, although I have missed it, and missed catching up with all your news. I intend to get back into the swing of things, and I'm pretty sure it'll help my attitude.

There's a tree in our backyard that makes me smile every time I see it. I meant to take a picture of it and then it rained several days and the knob where the 'nose' is began to grow a shoot...on the bark of this tree is an honest-to-god happy face: eyes, nose, and curved smile. Now the knob that was the 'nose' has a branch that has diluted the effect. But the tree's happy face reminds me to keep on keeping on; keep shining. We only have today and no promises are made--so live in the now--and the now is all we should deal with. How successful we are and how we choose to manage our life is up to us.

My best wishes to all of you to keep 'shining through.'

* P.S. I will keep you up-to-date on the fundraiser. And post pics of Kinky's visit. We  have a great poster out (wing spur.org). Kinky's manager sent a few pics, and we photoshopped two of them with two of ours. One has Kinky singing his heart out -- head thrown back, eyes closed -- sharing the mic with one of the mustangs, who also has her head back, eyes closed, and lips curled back (sniffing the wind, but it looks like they're singing a duet). The other has Kinky striding across the lawn, arms thrown up in the air, and the mustangs are lined up to the side, all looking his way.....I pray the fundraiser is as successful as the posters have come out!

All donations to the nonprofit sanctuary go 100% towards the horses's feed and medicine and vet bills.