“Help is a collection of essays (and one poem) from family caregivers who write about their perspectives on help: Getting help, giving help and asking for help. We also feature a series from Kathy, who writes about the struggle to take a break from caring for her husband. In her essays, she walks us through her thoughts before, during and after her break.” (excerpt from www.Caregiving.com)

I’m so happy to include that I am one of the contributing writers for this book.  My story tells about learning to ask for help.  As a caregiver, I felt that I was required to be Superwoman, able to handle every crisis and need by myself.  As I matured, I learned that it’s okay (and even healthy) to ask for assistance.

CareGifters second book will feature stories about the funny experiences that occur during the caregiving day. For this theme, Comedy, share a story that made you giggle or guffaw (or both).  Submissions for the Comedy book are open through March 23. You can submit an essay, short story, narrative or poem.  For more information, http://www.caregiving.com/2012/02/call-for-submissions-your-comedies-for-our-next-book/

Former FaithWriters blogger Lynda Lee Schab’s debut novel, Mind Over Madi, is out this month.   Along with a sneak peek into her book, Lynda was generous enough to have a giveaway for one lucky reader of the FaithWriters blog.   I have been selected as the lucky winner!   To read more about her book, go to http://faithwriters.com/blog/2011/11/22/mind-over-madi-includes-giveaway/     Thank you, Lynda!

I entered Kohl’s “Love to Give, Happy to Save” contest and they notified me that I have been selected as a Bi-weekly Prize winner.  My prize: $500 donation from Kohl’s on my behalf to Feeding America and a $100 gift card to Kohl’s for me.  Thank you, Kohl’s!

“Many years ago, when the physician said that my son Joe, who had type 1 spinal muscular atrophy, perhaps would live until 2 years old, I went into “Rambo mode,” ready to attack anything that got close enough to harm him.

But as the years went by and Joe’s health held stable, I silently vowed I would do my best to allow him to live outside the sterile little bubble I had created around him…”    http://quest.mda.org/article/living-outside-bubble

Please read the article I wrote for Quest, MDA’s Research and Health Magazine, on the subject of encouraging my son to be his own most effective advocate.  Feel free to post your feedback on the subject of self-advocacy.

To access full article:  http://quest.mda.org/article/living-outside-bubble (Quest Magazine, Fall 2011 Issue)

Here’s a look at the corner of my door this afternoon.  Covered with stink bugs.  My husband and I are working to seal every little opening that we can find to prevent these bugs from overtaking the inside of our home this year.  Last year, I was killing 10-20 at a time inside!

Along with sealing up the “nooks and crannies” where the bugs might enter, we are praying for God’s intervention.  I’m believing that God will take care of fighting off this nuisance on my behalf.

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.  (1 Peter 5:7, New Living Translation)

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”  (Psalm 91:1-2, NIV)

Last week as I kept hearing warnings about the impending possibilities of Hurricane Irene affecting our area, I didn’t really take any action ahead of time.   I did purchase a few cases of bottled water.   As I watched the television coverage of the approaching storm, I began to wonder if I should have bought more groceries or prepared a little more thoroughly.  But I did pray for God’s mercy and protection on my family and friends, our community and surrounding locations.

Once the storm hit, I must admit that the pounding rain and fierce winds were a little scary.  All thr0ugh the night, I keep waking up and seeing the blinking light on my electric toothbrush and was reassured that we still had our electric service in tact.     I woke in the morning to my husband suggesting I’d better get up if I wanted a hot cup of coffee.  The power had just gone out.   That was about 7:30 on Sunday morning.  I was one of the lucky ones — my power was restored about 4 hours later.   Some of my family and friends are just now having power restored.

We had some tree limbs in the yard but we were so fortunate there was no major tree or property damage.  Living in the middle of the woods is always a little uncertain with high winds.

Thank you, God, for your protection over us as this roaring storm swept through our area.    We pray for those who have been more severely affected.  Your blessings are overflowing and we are grateful for your peace and comfort during this time.

 

Carville Phillip Holmes

September 13, 1936 – July 21, 2011

On Thursday July 21, 2011, Carville Phillip Holmes of Street, Maryland passed on to be with the Lord.   Husband of Tina Holmes, father of Carville (Skip) P. Holmes, Jr., of Looneyville, W.Va., Tony E. Holmes of Street, Maryland, Tim S. Holmes of Fawn Grove, Pa,.  Michael A. Holmes of Street, Maryland, Lori (Sis) A. Reichert of New Park, Pa., also survived by 10 grandchildren and 4 great- grandchildren, brother- William Holmes of Jarrettsville, and sister- Catherine Ebright of South Carolina.

Visitiation will be Monday July 25, 2011 from 2-4 & 7-9 PM from the North Harford Baptist Church, 4008 Old Federal Hill Road, Jarrettsville, Maryland  21084.  Service will be from the church Tuesday July 26, 2011 at 10 AM.  Interment in Bel Air Memorial Gardens, Bel Air, Maryland  21014.

Charitable donations may be made in Carville’s memory to the following organization:

North Harford Baptist Church
4008 Old Federal Hill Road, Jarrettsville, Maryland 21084

(From the E. G. Kurtz & Son Funeral Home website, www.kurtzfh.com.   Condolences to the family may be expressed at that site.)

William Leslie Savage
February 6, 1934 – June 11, 2011

On June 11, 2011, William Leslie Savage, 77, passed away at Montgomery General Hospital
in Olney, Maryland. He was the beloved son of the late Park Franklin Savage and the late Anna
Tucker Savage. He was the cherished brother of the late Joanne Ruth Custer. He is survived by
brother-in-law, Frank Custer, nieces Debbie Button (and her husband Bob Button) and Bonnie Custer and nephew Bill Custer. He is also survived by great nephews Bob Button and Bill Custer and great niece Jenn Button and great, great nephew Brian Button. He was predeceased in death by great nephew Joe Button. He is also survived by aunts Ada Jones (and husband Jim Jones), Alveira Tucker and Evelyn Tucker and uncle Gene Tucker (and wife Mona Sue Tucker).

He served in the Air Force and was honorably discharged in March 1956 as an Airman Second Class.

I thought I had clearly indicated that the piece was a copy of an article posted in 2008 at the Scoop website, published by Gemstone Publishing and Diamond International Galleries.  What I failed to emphasize is the author of that article was a staff contributor at the Scoop website.  I feel such gratitude to that author for the kind words about my son.

	Joe Button

The passing of Joe Button, who most of our readers never got a chance to meet, let alone know, is one of those immeasurable imponderables that turns the question “What if…?” simultaneously into a bitter pill to swallow and the unit of measurement that should be used to gauge hope.

An aspiring comic book, animation, and screenwriter who seemed just on the verge of making it, Joseph Brian Button of Jarrettsville, Maryland, died April 10, 2008 at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air, Maryland. He was 24.

His age would render his passing sad enough even if he hadn’t yet found his direction in life. He would have hardly been the first young man to be looking around at 24, wondering what he was going to do with himself. That wasn’t the case with him, though. He not only knew what he wanted to do, he actively pursued his dream.

What makes his aspirations and level of achievement remarkable was what he had to overcome to get as far as he got. Born in Baltimore in 1983, Joe defied the odds and lived nearly 25 years with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a rare medical condition. Doctors predicted he wouldn’t live past age two.

He did his writing from a bedside computer. He had been confined to his bed since he was eight due to his profound muscular weakness. Whether there or at a comic book convention in a wheelchair, though, there was no restraining his spirit.

According to his family, “He lived each day with enthusiasm and accomplished so much in life, always with the desire to help others.”

This sentiment is echoed by those who met him at conventions and creators he interviewed for SilverBulletComicBooks.com.

“When you work in the entertainment industries you become aware of just how many talented people are making moves just below the surface. They are the hot new creators who are taking meetings and doing spec scripts and doing rewrites of spec scripts and helping established writers and artists with their deadlines. They are almost there. Some of these people never make it beyond that promising moment. If you’ve worked as long as I have you start to get the feel for who might make it and who might not. You can see when the talent is there but the will is weak – or the times are not right, the opportunities are not there. For whatever reason, they are always just on the verge of the big sale. Joe Button was so close to that big sale we could all see it in his future. He had talent. Joe Button had more drive and energy, more belief in himself than 90% of the aspiring artists and writers who show me their work. He embodied the concept of: You can only fail if you give up. He never gave up. And the frustrating thing is – if his body had been strong enough to last for another year or two – you would have been reading his comics and enjoying them,” said Mark Wheatley, a veteran comics creator and head of Insight Studios Group. “Joe had something to say and comics will be poorer for never having heard him. I always enjoyed our conversations and I will miss his wit and humor. Too many talented young people in our industry have died in the past year and comics can’t afford the loss. And it is a major shame that we lost Joe Button.”

“Initially, Joe impressed you with his passion for comics, his work ethic when it came to writing, and his steadfast refusal to allow his condition to hinder his pursuit of his dreams. But if you took the time to actually read what he was writing, the biggest surprise of all was that he could actually write well. He faced so much adversity, but transcended it, with courage, grace, and good humor,” said writer-director Robert Tinnell.

His family said his enthusiasm for information and thirst for knowledge were the basis for his writing career.

“From his youth, Joe had a love for comics and superheroes, who were not bound by the law of reason and ordinary principles. Superheroes are able to fly above the ordinary circumstances of life. Always loving the story of Aladdin and his magic carpet, Joe’s bedside access to his computer allowed him to ‘take a magic carpet ride’ every day into countries around the world, from Harford County to New Zealand,” they said in a statement for local papers.

Among other projects, he had written a romantic comedy, “Forest Hill”, which had placed in the quarter finals in an international screenplay competition. His family related that in the judge’s comments, Joe was told that his writing style reminded them of the comedy film writer Kevin Smith, who Joe was happy to have met for a signing at a New York Comic Convention.

In death, he chose to donate his body for medical research with the hope that something might be learned about his disease.

Happy Birthday, Joe!  We miss you.

To view original article:    http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=34&s=259&ai=69125&arch=y&ssd=4/16/2008%2012:01:00%20PM

Life is not a rose garden where everything is beautiful all the time.  Being able to honestly reveal events will perhaps hurt for the moment, but bring a healing long term that could not have been found any other way.  We isolate ourselves when we allow others to see only our accomplishments.