Rejoicing in the Garden...

Hello, it's Brenda with another planted blog post. I want to bring some joy into this one. I am so thankful that I came from a family that loved music. We all loved to sing. My father would sometimes sing in German the hymn; Gott Ist Die Liebe meaning, God Is Love. My mother would play the piano by using chords. Three of my sisters played piano for church. One even played the organ as well. My oldest sister and I were the soloists. I took voice lessons during my high school years and even during the summer months. 

Music has always been a big part of my life. It helps to keep me centered, when I'm stressed or anxious. I like to listen to music while I'm walking. I haven't been able to do much of that this winter or spring, due to  osteoarthritis in my ankles. It happens to be Arthritis Awareness Month in the United States, so consider this my way of spreading awareness. It's been almost 33 years since I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and that has been quiet for the most part. That is part of my rejoicing. I've remained in clinical joint remission for over 4 years. I still live with the disease, but it is not as active at the moment. Let me continue with my other reason for rejoicing in the next paragraph. 

It is also Brain Tumor Awareness month in the United States, so I also have some rejoicing to share about that as well. I've been a brain tumor survivor for almost 16 years. This literally blows my mind, that I'm even writing about this. My creativity started to soar about a year after I became a brain tumor survivor. I started writing and the words would just flow as I would type them on the page. It was a way of expressing myself in a healthy way and hopefully becoming an encouragement for others. As I am composing this, with no notes in front of me, the ideas are coming faster than I can type. It's always been that way. I pretty much sit down at my Chromebook and start planting a blog post and keep going until I'm done. My brain is wired differently now. I'm good with that. I'm much more emotional at times. I go back and read some of my older posts, even with my last blog; 'Brenda's Brainstorm & Trevor' and the waterworks can start, just like that. I'm amazed that I wrote something that touched me so deeply. As I said before, writing is a healing balm and my source of therapy. 

Now for the fun part of this planted blog post. I want to invite you to a garden party. It's actually starting right now. As you read this, I want you to imagine as you enter, lots of laughter and music playing in the background. There are butterflies all around and birds singing a beautiful melody. There are bright colored streamers displayed, to make this party even more spectacular. It's a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. It's about 80° and a light breeze, making a fantastic day for a garden party. It's a day where you leave all of your troubles behind and soak in the merriment. The food is wonderful, catered by my favorite eating establishment; Cafe Noko. Of course, their employees are telling jokes and the laughter is contagious. The music takes a turn with classic rock and Autograph's 'Turn Up the Radio' begins to play. I don't know about you, but that song always puts me in a party mood. Then the rock anthem a personal favorite of mine; 'I'm Still Standing' starts to play. It reminds me of how far I've come on these 2 journeys. That gives me a reason for rejoicing. 

It's not always been easy, nothing is that is worthwhile. I don't think it is any coincidence that Arthritis and Brain Tumor Awareness occur during the same month. My life changed on May 8, 1991 and again on September 8, 2008. Two significant life altering events that have shaped me into who I have become. My life has been filled with hardships and blessings, but you can't really have one without the other. 

As I end this planted blog post, I want to leave a special message for my fellow survivors or warriors out there. It's something I wrote back in 2011, the year I lost my mother to congestive heart failure. 

"It's comforting to know that we can lean on each other for support, when the going gets rough." @blk

Until next time, KEEP BLOOMING! I hope you enjoyed the garden party.

💙💜🩶 Brenda