Weekly Round-Up

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girl_with_lassoTime for this week’s round-up of the best of the blogs which I’ve read over the past week. These are the posts that have moved me, taught me something, inspired me, and which I’ve wanted to share with you. Remember, if you have written or read a post recently which you would like me to share with readers, then please leave a comment below.

Debbie declared this week “courageous women with cancer week” on her blog. Read her posts and join the conversation. And from courageous women to “fearless friends”, Jody has written a beautiful post.

This week AnneMarie  is talking metastatic cancer, “celeb” cancer and the #bcsm twitter chat.

Yvonne is writing of patents, genetics and gene testing and Katie has a terrific post on the often-contentious topic of mammography.

Philippa is off on her travels again and this week she has posted the most stunning pictures of  Timor Leste (East Timor), the second youngest country in the world.

Nancy has written a “cut-out-and-keep” guide to getting through TSA when you are a cancer survivor. I will be bearing all she has written in mind next time I travel to the States.

Kathi is writing about the long-term problems associated with radiation.

Brenda has been writing about the healing power of music and ends with this lovely reminder to find our voice:

If you can’t remember the last time you sang at the top of your voice then it’s been too long, my friends.

In Can I Let You Help Me?  Lois Hjelmstad writes of the inability of breast cancer patients (and others) to reach out or accept whatever support is offered. Why do we, as women, do this?  she asks

That natural inclination to shoulder our own burdens plays into our reluctance to accept help. We also fall into “I’m not worthy” and “I haven’t suffered enough.” In my support group, I always felt a bit inferior because I did not have the kind of cancer that chemotherapy would have helped. These issues bedevil many of us.

A very instructive and thoughtful post by Jan this week, writing of what it is like to be a mom to three boys and be diagnosed with breast cancer.

No matter what minor complaints I may feel I have, reading A Fresh Chapter always puts things starkly in perspective for me and Terri, who also celebrated her birthday this week,  is writing  about the motherless children of Rwanda in a powerfully written post.

Everywhere I looked on the blogosphere this week, there was an outbreak of spring fever – and it was wonderful to see. Renn had a joyous spring poem by Karla Kuskin for us, and Being Sarah, beautiful magnolia blossom; Stacey puts her happy mood down to the “warmth of spring” and a wedding,  while The Authentic Me is also captivated by the season’s beauty.

Joyful as this season of spring is for many, for others, it is a reminder of loss. And so it is for The Pink Underbelly , mourning the loss of her Mom,  who writes:

Springtime is hard, really hard, and today heralds the beginning of the period of time that hurts my heart.

And as I continue to struggle with my grief over losing my own mother, and in anticipation of the sadness of her upcoming birthday in 3 days time, I turn to the words of Maura, who reminds me that grief is a process, which doesn’t work to any timetable.

Managing expectations is a large part of coping with grief. Grief does a lot better when it is not burdened with judgement. It is an ocean; the waves will settle when they are ready. There is no point in assigning the process any sort of timetable. Each loss is different for each person, and that process needs to be respected from within, and from those around us.

Thinking of Maura, of Nancy, of all those who are missing Rachel and those who are mourning loved ones… let us be kind and compassionate to those who are grieving and gentle with ourselves who are mourning.

Until next week.

Yours with love

Marie xxx

Category : #BCSM, Death and Dying, Round-Up
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