Cheers!

As 2017 heads out of town, I thought I would throw a little levity towards at year that has been particularly tough.

Do you remember the TV show cheers? The opening music sang about how everybody wants to go where everyone knows their name.

I think deep down we all want that place somewhere in our life. Whether it is your local restaurant, favorite bar, store, or place of worship we all want that place where they know you. I mean really know you.


For me that is the River Inn in Hanover.
They call me by name. I get hugs. The owners know me. The staff knows me. Other patrons know me. They know what I like to drink and where I like to sit. They know what I have been through over the past few years and they check up on me. It's my place.


Now where your place is and at what level they know you at is very personal. You get to decide where it is and how well you want them to know you. And everyone's place is different for personal reasons. Once you have chosen this place and they get to know you then the place becomes special. And since you chose it, it become in a sense your place.


Well except for when it isn't, so let me tell you about yesterday.
I got a new place where they now know me by name. I didn't pick it. If I had a top ten place list where everyone knows me, it wouldn't had made that list either.
They know me by site and get my order ready when they see me.
This location pretty much sums up the last few months of 2017.
The place?
Walgreens pharmacy.
Yep I pulled into the drive thru to pick up a new prescription and before I can get my window all the way down the lady goes "Hi Roger, I have something for you." She then disappeared and came back with my new prescription. You know the year has been tough when the pharmacist knows you by name.
Here is hoping that 2018 has less pharmacy visits than 2017.


HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!


Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came;
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same;
You want to be where everybody knows your name.
(Where Everyone Knows Your Name.  Gary Portnoy &Judy Hart Angelo)

Inner Strength

First off I would like to say Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays. Thank you for reading or continuing to read this blog.

Now It may or may not be a strange topic to write about during the holidays, but it has been on my mind a lot lately and I wanted to spend this time and write about it.

Inner Strength. What is it? It is defined as the strength within yourself, it makes you strong enough to stand up to others. If a person is sad for some reason they may rely on inner strength to pull them through whatever the case may be.

I am a member of a number of Facebook groups that support and connect people from all over the world who are dealing with the CDH1 mutation. These folks have to make the same decision that my sister and I did. Do they make that decision on whether or not to live with the threat or have it removed? In these post there is fear. There is anxiety, and there is hope. And in all of these post there is a point in time where the persons inner strength kicks in and they make the decision that is best for them and their family.

I can remember after I learned that I had tested positive for the CDH1 genetic mutation that for a while I was just numb. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t focus. I could stare at my computer screen at work and everything would just go blank. All the sudden I would snap out of it feeling that I had only been staring for a few minutes only to find that an hour had gone by.  It took quite a long time to come to terms with what was going on and I found when I look back sometimes I wonder how I made it through. Even today I struggle with my decisions.

This is my third Christmas stomachless. I would like to say that it has gotten easier as each year passes, but for some reason this holiday has been accompanied my extra anxiety over the past few years. In 2015 I was struggling with strictures and losing weight. In 2016 the company I worked for was sold and my position was eliminated. Now this year I am struggling to get healthy again after my accident and still cannot use my right eye.

It just seems that there has always been something that weighs on my mind during this time of the year.

Inner strength is what you rely on to get through this and not the let blahs get you down. I know I could, but I won’t let it. I can’t let it. I have been at too many funerals this year. I have seen too many doctors again this year. I have friends who have struggled and continue to fight health, wealth and employment issues.
This year for Christmas we are in North Carolina with my daughter and her husband. I just heard the little guy upstairs and soon he will be down here smiling and lifting spirits.  He has been battling an ear infection but doesn’t let it get him too down. You see when the music starts, no matter where it is from, he smiles and bops is head to the music.

Tonight we are going to a late mass, at a small church were a good friend of mine is Pastor to hear him tell the tale of a journey over 2000 years old. A journey about fear, anxiety and hope. A journey where inner strength took over a led a young family forward.

So now matter what your circumstances are. No matter what situation you find yourself in. My hope is that you reach back and rely on your inner strength to get you through it. In the end you might not know how you made it through it but the important this is that you did.

Merry Christmas.

Getttin' strong now Coming on, now
Gettin' strong now Gonna fly now
Flyin' high now Gonna fly, fly, fly
(Gonna Fly Now  Bill Conti)
(From Rocky 1)