Happy Birthday!

Time to celebrate TWO birthdays

One birthday you'll read about in the press.  The other birthday you'll read about here.

Today would have been my sister Tina's 59th birthday.  

Tina died in 1996 at age 46.  She had bile duct cancer which spread to her liver and throat.  Too young to die.  Too young to leave her children and her siblings behind.  

Tina was creative, smart, achieved goals, quick witted, strong willed, dedicated, loving, could play a great practical joke and leave all involved laughing.

This photo is from our family reunion in 1992.  

It was thru her struggle with cancer that I started my own health journey.  I discovered a book that changed my life: Dr. Andrew Weil's "Spontaneous Healing".   

A few years after her death I had ballooned to over 300 pounds.  I had a very graphic dream involving Tina.  

In the dream I was at her funeral.  I was walking down the aisle when suddenly the room went dark & a spot light was on the casket and on me.  

The casket opened and she crawled out, crawled up the aisle, grabbed my clothes and climbed up my body.  She grabbed my head & brought my face right up to hers and said "Don't die young".

I literally sat up in bed, sweating and crying and woke Steve up to tell him about my dream.

He said "Either she really came to you in your dream or your subconscious is telling you the same message 'Don't die young'."

I joined Weight Watchers that day and proceeded to lose 115 pounds over the next 5 years.

Tina I still make the same promise.  I won't die young.

 

Rumor has it that Elvis died on the toilet and his colon weighed 40 pounds.  

Oh Elvis.  Because of you I live by the motto: An empty colon is a happy colon.  

Happy Birthday Elvis Presley.