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Nancy Ulin's avatar

I cringed when I read what you described and understand your gratitude.

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Ruth Blackburn's avatar

I really needed this today. I have a lifetime of knee issues from an inherited condition and today had started as one of the hard ones. I finished reading and said wow. Such a beautiful reminder of seeing the gift of life and being filled with gratitude. Thank you🙏

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J. F. Riordan's avatar

I hope you feel better.

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Ruth Blackburn's avatar

You too!

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Jaime McIntosh's avatar

Truth!!! I whine about having to get my knee replaced!!! Gratitude!!!

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Emily's avatar

Dear Janet, I usually save your posts for the evening after my “to-dos” for the day are done, but I decided to read now. Oh, I am so thankful that another outcome, such as paralysis or death did not happen. Your poor parents and the brother who witnessed! It may have been so traumatic for them that your parents could not speak of it to you. Indeed we have much to be thankful for in ways large and small, as well as ways that we are unaware of. I do hope that the chiropractor finds a treatment that will be of help to you. 🙏🏻🙏🏻

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J. F. Riordan's avatar

I honestly never thought that my parents may not have been able to speak of it. Thank you for that. I’m pretty hopeful about this new treatment. I feel better already.

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Emily's avatar

This may be sort of similar, but my parents lost a 2 month old baby girl in 1957 of a heart defect, that wasn’t known until after she died. This was a year before my birth. Her death was so unexpected and shocking to my young parents that they could not speak of her. It was just too painful to talk about, as my father told me, many years later. Of course then, no grief counselors or anything of the sort that I’m aware of, so suffering was silent and I feel sure that it contributed greatly to my mother’s depression, which she managed to keep under wraps most of the time.

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J. F. Riordan's avatar

A very sad story.

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Emily's avatar

It is sad, but I took great comfort when my parents passed in Oct 2020 and Dec 2020 (not of covid, thankfully) that they now were reunited with my sister, Kathryn. 😇

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Jane Alexander's avatar

Somehow I have missed that your name is Janet. My sister’s name was Janet, the one I mentioned earlier in another comment.

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J. F. Riordan's avatar

A Jane and a Janet in the same family! (Almost everyone calls me Jan.)

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Jane Alexander's avatar

A blending of the two!

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Sharon L. Boyes-Schiller's avatar

This is the most wonderful post for the weekend of Thanksgiving. You’ve been given the gift of seeing this in a completely different way. I do hope also that this chiropractor can do something about aches and pains of the issues with the vertebrae in your neck, but his gift to you was to see this in a new way. That’s so wonderful and at the same time, it’s a gift to us for you to write about it. How you see things, from what perspective, makes such a difference.

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J. F. Riordan's avatar

“Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

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Sharon L. Boyes-Schiller's avatar

Exactly. Rather Zen.

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Kim Muth's avatar

I’m grateful that you are around……

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J. F. Riordan's avatar

Thank you!!

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Marka Ormsby's avatar

This is the perfect example of why I love your posts! Scientific research has determined that human beings focus on negative experiences. It's in our DNA when it was critical to our survival. Early humans had to focus on negative experiences, such as eating poisonous berries or being attacked by predators.

In today's world, most of us don't face life-and-death experiences (aside from falling off roofs), but we still remember more negative than positive experiences. But, we can retrain our minds to focus on the positive in every negative experience.

This is one of the MANY reasons I LOVE your posts. They focus on being thankful for all the blessings we have, and there are many. You can find them if you try!

As always, we love the doggo pictures!

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J. F. Riordan's avatar

Thank you, Marka. I always appreciate your thoughts.

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Yaakov Levine, FNTP's avatar

Janet, I really get this, but needed the reminder…as a combat and cancer veteran I look at each day as a gift…but lately I tend to dive into the morass of our political situation and forget, thanks for this ❤️🌹❤️

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J. F. Riordan's avatar

Freedom’s not the only thing that requires eternal vigilance. Take care!

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jane's avatar

Thank you for telling us this. I believe sometimes we have to be thankful for the things that don’t happen to us - like your accident or childhood diseases with lifelong implications. What makes you a good human being is your ability to see God’s gifts as gifts and not entitlements. I guess the bottom line here is that we have abandoned the Bible of Jesus Christ and have adopted the gospel of prosperity (them that has gets) and the Bible of mike johnson - do what djt tells you or you’ll end up like djt’s kevin.

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J. F. Riordan's avatar

So many things in life—both good and bad—are undeserved. It’s important to remember.

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Diana P's avatar

Oh wow … wow … what could have been and what was.

I am sorry for the chronic pain, they are awful. And yet, I am struck by your perspective — to see your life as a gift.

As for Eli … always the touching. Such a love. 💕

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Gina Burton's avatar

What a beautiful story, Janet🙏

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Carol L. Clark's avatar

Wow, on so many fronts. The accident, the brother's love, that you survived, have lived so long with that pain, and seeing so many gifts from it. Wishing you far less pain, great success with your new book, and I still think your two Shepards are so handsome and so lucky to have each other. Be well.

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J. F. Riordan's avatar

Thank you, Carol.

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Nila Vehar's avatar

The miracle of life. Oh my goodness, feel better. Chronic pain is annoying. Just when I think one body part is fixed another one hurts. Auggie and Eli will pamper you today.

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J. F. Riordan's avatar

So true!

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Patricia Cochran's avatar

Beautiful & touching.

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Patricia Briggs's avatar

I feel your pain and comfort on so many levels. In high school I landed on my head in a tumbling accident and have had spine pain for the last 60+ years. But, I was not paralyzed, so…❤️👍😄

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J. F. Riordan's avatar

Honestly never realized all these symptoms were related. I hope you, too, can find some relief.

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Patricia Briggs's avatar

Walking my dog daily and cuddles does wonders, since stress tightens the muscles and puts pressure on the vertebrae. Dog relaxation is my miracle treatment. ❤️🦮💋

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