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Love, Patience and Understanding - Words from the Heart

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Contents

Introduction....................................................................ixLove of Our Parents.............................................................3Love Of A Spouse-For Better or Worse, In Sickness or Health.....................9Love-Our Precious Newborn Baby Love.............................................11Love -Best Friends..............................................................13Carolyn.........................................................................15The Four Amigos.................................................................19Love-Love and Marriage..........................................................22Love-Loss of a Loved One........................................................25Love-So Sad- Yet So Strong......................................................39Summer 2003.....................................................................53Spring 2004.....................................................................54Spring 2005.....................................................................55Christmas 2009..................................................................59February 2010...................................................................60Patience-Always Count Your Blessings............................................65Patience-Negativity.............................................................67Patience-On- The- Spot..........................................................69Patience-Focusing and Concentrating.............................................71Patience-On- the- Job Training..................................................76Patience-Raising Our Children...................................................78Understanding...................................................................83Conclusion......................................................................91

Chapter One

One of our superlative loves, is the love we have for our parents.

Because of them, they gave us life.

Because of them, we are who we are.

Because of them we have morals, respect and were taught to love our neighbor.

Because of them fundamentals in life were mastered, and we learned to appreciate what we have and always count our blessings.

Because of them we have values, faith, and confidence. We hold our heads up high at the most impecunious times.

Because of them, we were born, loved, fed and always protected.

And now, because of them, we strive to be good children, the children they deserve to have by helping them in their time of need. It could be with daily visits and keeping them company, running errors, or taking them to and from doctor/ dentist appointments. We help them with their housework or perhaps help them with writing the checks for their bills. We make ourselves available for their wants and needs, just as they were available to us for so many amazing years. Yes, because of them our love is powerful and giving.

We all have a loved parent or relative who has survived a stroke, heart attack, or cancer, or perhaps another illness. Although the journey of recovery takes its toll on all of us, it is difficult for a family member to foresee the changes they are about to experience. Unfortunately for them, no matter how hard they try to recover, certain factors cannot be changed. With this in mind, I would like to tell you from my experience, that with love, patience and understanding, and with each new day, their hope for survival will become a little easier.

My Mother suffered a stroke on June 4, 2008. She was 87 years old. She raised 6 children on her own. She always worked two or three jobs, to have food on our table, rent paid, and tuition for our Catholic school education.

My Mom was always very healthy and vivacious. She never suffered from headaches or other types of pain. If she did, we never knew, because she never complained. She would walk for miles to get to her place of work, and never seemed to be tired. She loved to cook and work in her yard. At 87 years old, she still mowed her lawn, weeded, and manicured the walkway. She loved spending hours in her garden.

My Mom loved crocheting beautiful afghans. She crocheted all her children and grandchildren afghans made with love and pride. These afghans cannot be bought or sold for any amount of money. When I see each afghan she has made with her love, I smile and remember her working so diligently to complete each one.

She also spent hours knitting baby blankets for our friends and family when they were having a baby. Each blanket was prettier than the other. Since her stroke, almost all the things she loved to do, have diminished. There are days when she just wants to cry because she cannot do things she once could accomplish.

Again, with LOVE AND PATIENCE, I have to remind her to count her blessings.

I tell her: " Mom, you can still walk, you can still talk, you can still hear and carry on a conversation." I remind her she has so much to be thankful for. With these words, she will just look at me with a doleful look and a tear in her eye.

Then, with UNDERSTANDING, I tell her, "Mom, your stroke could have been so much worse. I thank God we still have you with us." Then, she will think to herself, and she will turn to me and say, "Carol, you are right" and with that, we smile to each other. I then give her a sweet kiss on her cheek, and say "I love you, Mom."

After any type of illness, it is so difficult to expect our loved ones to accomplish all the things they once were so capable of doing. Cooking, cleaning, bathing, reading or any type of crafts could be more of a hardship for them than we realize.

Many patients, after their illness, are placed in Rehab facilities, where they are taught to walk, speak or use their arms and legs again. We, as their children, know that their recovery may be quite some time. With this thought in mind, it's the love from us that keeps our precious loved one going. It's the patience we exercise and the understanding of all their needs and wants. We must accept the fact that life will be different now, and we must realize that there will always be obstacles in the way of our loved one trying to please us.

Our Love, Patience, and Understanding will help our loved one to feel they have worth and are not a burden to us. With compliments and kind words our Mom or Dad will know we are there for them and we will help them recover in every way we possibly can. We help our parents feel confident by letting them know they are doing a good job and they are loved by their family. They need to know we are always there for them.

After my Mom's stroke and return home from the hospital, she once admitted to me, "Everyone tries desperately to survive. Even a mouse trapped in a mouse-trap, filled with cheese or peanut butter, squirms and wiggles to become free. This is called an act of survival." I looked at my beautiful Mom, heeded her words of wisdom, turned to her and gave her a kiss on her precious cheek.

Love Of A Spouse For Better or Worse, In Sickness or Health

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In December 2008, Dee's husband Louie, became ill due to diabetes. He was hospitalized continuously for over a year. As a result of his illness, both legs were amputated. What a heartbreaking ordeal for not only...