Monthly Archives: July 2016

Ebb and Flow

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The ebs and flows of life are brutal. Sometimes they’re amazingly happy and then painfully sad. I’ve been reading a yoga book recently (surprise surprise) by a woman who was once a drug addict then turned fashion model who got her life together and then turned to yoga and has some great insight. At one point during the book she said that one of the best lessons she’s ever learned in life is that, life is always an ebb and a flow. It’s a river that keeps on going. There are days that the water is calm and the sun is shining, and there are other days when the current is so strong the beings inside the water get washed away or bump off rocks and lose their breaths. And they don’t always have to be in the ‘big’ moments that

 

My life has been full of amazing things lately—the obviously fun ones like getting engaged and beginning to plan our wedding—planning for our trip to Italy—getting ready for one of my best friends wedding—spending an entire week with my family on the cape getting to swim in the water – Phoebe being the reason that I laugh every single day. My life has come a long way from where it was just two short years ago at this point. That was a big ebb and flow but there are smaller streams too. Like how when I went to go wedding dress shopping, I ended up being stuck in two hours of traffic which made me late to my appointment – ugh, I felt so upset and mad for myself. But then I arrived and my maid-of-honor sister had a goodies bag for my mom and me and I ended up choosing the dress of MY dreams and having a fantastic afternoon with my two besties. But then we went to dinner, and I got lost on the way there. Woops. And then when we were leaving, a hail storm started and it was a dangerous ride home—my knuckles were white and I was literally praying for God to get my family and I home safely. He did. We all got home safe. And then I felt better and I popped a bottle of champagne and danced around my living room in excitement over my dress. So you can see, the day was an ebb and flow. There were good moments, and bad moments and fabulous moments. But they all passed. The only moment we have is the present. And so in those moments of “baddddd” I have found it helpful to remind yourself, that this too really shall pass.

Lots of love & light,

Jessy

 

I Need Your Help

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When the emergency room doctor stepped outside after telling Mike and my parents that I had leukemia, there was precisely one thing that popped in my mind and quickly came out of my mouth, “but I want to marry Mike,” I said to all three of them. One year from today, on July 22, 2017, at a quaint inn on Cape Cod, that dream of mine will become a reality. That dream is due in large part to the the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. I have about 1,000 things to thank them for but giving me a second chance at life and giving me the opportunity to marry the love of my life and start our life together brings a level of gratitude I will never be able to match. But in just over two months, on September 25th, I will symbolically try to thank the organization that essentially gave Mike and I our future, by walking in the Jimmy Fund Walk to support the ongoing programs, medicine and RESEARCH. This research is imperative to conduct so that one day all stories have a ‘happily ever after’ like mine. Tragically, today that isn’t the case for all patients that go to the Farber in hopes of fixing themselves and getting to marry their Mike. So it’s my responsibility to help and today, I’m asking you to help too by making a donation to my walk team. 
 
Any donation, big or small, truly makes a difference in the efforts of Dana Farber and their live-saving mission. On behalf of all past, current and future patients, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
 
tinyurl.com/jessysjfwalk

Lots of love & light,

Jessy

2014 vs 2016

p.s. Cheers to one year today Stevens, I love you!

The Beauty of Being Blind

Posted in Inspiration, Smile Cards by

To my amazement, over the past year and a half, I’ve continued to receive Smile Cards on a regular basis to take to the Brigham. Sometimes they’re from friends or family but more often than not, they’re from individuals or groups that I’m not associated with or know personally. Upon returning from the Cape on Saturday, I was immediately greeted with two batches of cards from different people. After we unpacked, I started reading thru them and, as I always am, I was moved by the kind words these strangers were writing to patients. But as I was reading through them, my mind wandered to the many tragic events that have unfolded in our country and throughout the world in the past month. It struck me, quite poignantly, that the many children and adults writing these cards don’t know who they’re writing to so they certainly don’t know the patients’ race or religion or gender or sexuality. They just know that they’re a human being. A human being in need of some support and so they selflessly offer their love, prayers and healing thoughts to complete and total strangers.

I wish that we could all see the world like the people who write these smile cards do…blind to the labels society puts on people. Blind to whether or not the person is voting for Hillary or Trump, blind to what kind of car they drive or what God they believe in or whether they’re gay or straight or transgender. They’re blind to it all; all except the fact that there’s a human being on the other end of that card, there’s a human being in a hospital bed that has a family and friends that love them. In the end, isn’t that all we really need to know? A person, just like us, is in need… We should help. 
It’s time we see people truly for the heart that beats within them.
Thank you to every single person who has written a Smile Card over the past year and a half. You’re making the world a more caring place. Keep them coming!
Lots of love & light,

Jessy