A Special Gift

Have you stressed over what to buy someone? Buying gifts or giving gifts,  can be especially challenging if you have someone in your life that is "hard to buy for." Gifts are so fun for children to open, I will admit, I loved watching the kids open their gifts on Christmas morning. Have you ever received a gift that really wasn't something you wanted? I think the adage "it's better to give than to receive" is frequently heard throughout the holidays. Due to the hustle and bustle of this time of year, it is easy to forget how rewarding simple gestures of kindness and giving can be.

Yesterday I received an incredibly thoughtful and unexpected gift from someone. I was at a loss for words (which is a little unusual for me at times), and I even cried. Have you ever received something so special that you are just a little overcome with emotion? This gift was so kind...I just couldn't believe it--so here's a little bit of the story.

Thursday afternoon I received a Facebook message from a friend saying, "Hi! So, I bought you a present because I really like what you're doing with your blog..."

Insert my "I'm incredibly shocked face" and some major tears.

"I went ahead and registered www.walkingwithmemphis.com for you for the next two years. That way, you can close the .blogspot and give your exceptional blog a more professional look."

Insert more tears, my hand covering my mouth, and the words "is this real life?" and "oh my word--exceptional blog?"

Indeed, this is real life. I'm very proud to say that now, dear readers, you'll be able to find this blog with a dot com address---a new URL just for this blog will be up at www.walkingwithmemphis.com

"This is just a gift."

This is so much more than a gift. You see, starting this blog has been a dream or at least a lingering thought for some time now. I've had a few ideas of wanting to write about various experiences like going back to school to finish my bachelor's degree after 9 years off, going to grad school immediately after finishing that bachelor's degree, but this blog about Memphis and life with my Veteran has been on my heart and mind.

So, without much thinking, planning, or research, I started using Blogger and the rest you know as "history" or you know by reading these posts...

I now have the opportunity to share this blog with so many...and I am so excited! I have a lot of ideas, I have a lot of ideas for posts tucked away, I'm working on a logo, I'm hoping to get guest bloggers, interviews, and even some videos and other websites to post that will provide information to Veterans, spouses, family members, and those who are interested in service dogs and Veterans. These big dreams will be a reality---and I still can't believe it.

I'm so thankful for this amazing gift--it means more to me than the gift giver knows. I hope that you'll continue on this journey with me because I believe that big things are going to happen! This URL/domain helps me continue this journey and I count that as a blessing, as well as a gift I will never forget.

What does this mean for this site where you can read these posts? Well, it is going to be merged to the new URL. So, because of the holiday (Happy New Year, btw), and looking to get some tech help for this, it may be a few days before a post is made. Once the new site is up and running, I'll announce on social media, and of course, continue to share links to the blog posts.

Talk about blessed---we have such wonderful gifts in our life: Memphis, our kids, our family, our friends...health, a roof over our heads, so many to list...these are all so special, and now we can add this one to our list as well.

This is such an exciting time! So, to close, I'd like to thank this wonderful person.

Dear gift giver,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I promise that the content comes from my heart, and the stories, emotions, they are real. Sometimes the content comes with tears because it is a tough memory or subject, but I want to share our story. This opportunity to share our story may help someone else, it may open a door for someone. Your kindness is just awesome. With your help and guidance, I think that this blog can really make a difference. Thank you for believing in me and thank you ever so much for this most special gift.

With sincerest thanks,
Cathrine (and Sam, and Memphis)

Excited faces! This is how I kept smiling yesterday after getting good news that I'll have a domain for this blog. This photo is actually from our airport reunion after my trip to Denver...where I got wings from our awesome flight attendant on Southwest.

Be Kind.

During the hustle and bustle of the morning, I always say to the kids (as we are leaving for school/work) "have a good day, I love you,  don't forget to mind your manners and be kind!" It may seem redundant or get old to them, but every morning we try to stick to our routine and every morning those words are said in the car.

Sometimes it is hard to be kind. We may have a bad day, someone may do something that irritates us (driving slow in the left lane, no turn signal, taking a parking spot we wanted), sometimes the phrase "when it rains, it pours" may even come to mind if you are having "one of those days," and it is just too much to be kind.

We have had a lot of people who have been very kind to us since Sam was paired with Memphis. In an earlier post, I mentioned the wonderful folks of Rotary District 6510. We had a random stranger pay for our meal one evening at Cracker Barrel. We've had people come up to us and thank Sam for his service and say, "God bless you."

Did you know that simply by being kind you can make the difference in the life of anyone you encounter, and even in the life of a Veteran?

I saw something yesterday on Facebook that brought tears to my eyes--well, two things now that I think about it.

The first: Gateway Warrior Foundation raised and donated $50,000 to This Able Veteran to sponsor TWO veteran/service dog teams. That gives me goosebumps. They have been such a blessing to many families, and to TAV. Through their support and donations, two Veterans will have an opportunity to fully live life and experience the joys of having a canine companion for life.

The second: Mrs. Maze's first grade class at Tri-C Elementary made over 175 buddy bags for Veteran patients at the Marion VA. I think the other first grade classes were involved, but that made my heart swell. Such a sweet gesture, and I'm so proud to know many of those teachers.

These two simple acts of kindness, love, and appreciation are just what we need in this world.

I will never be able to say "thank you" enough to the folks who helped raise money and donate the funding to sponsor Memphis. Simple acts of kindness, love, and appreciation once again...they have helped change the life of a Veteran that I love very much. They have helped Sam become comfortable in this world, in his job, and day to day life. These folks have also helped our family--we can go out together as a family, we know if Sam is feeling stressed or anxious, Memphis is there to support him. These people help Veterans battling PTSD.

This blog is a glimpse into our lives...and my hope is that by reading and sharing, maybe it reaches someone who needs some kindness and love. Maybe it reaches a family who has a loved one that struggles with PTSD. Maybe it reaches someone who has questions about a service dog, or knows someone that could benefit from learning about TAV's program and what their service dogs do.

Last night I talked with some people who care deeply for our Veterans, and who are supporters of This Able Veteran. I just kept thinking about how much I appreciate all of the support, love, kindness, and generosity we have received from people who are connected to this organization. It brings tears to my eyes...in a good way. Because it warms my heart knowing there are so many people who are willing to give up their time to support this mission of helping Veterans. There are people who don't even know much about TAV, or the reach this program has, and I hope that through conversation, this blog, and seeing TAV service dogs out and about, people can get a better understanding of what these service dogs do, and how these Veterans are living life with them.

So many people have been so kind..

A friend of mine recently lost his father. I was so moved by a post he made regarding his father on social media. He said, "please do something kind for someone else in his memory." Now, I never met his father, but from various posts on social media, and his blog, I do know his father was a kind, genuine man. Someone with a megawatt smile. Someone who never met a stranger and made people feel as if he'd known them for years. Someone who was kind...

If you are struggling this holiday season, especially with being kind, may I offer this advice? No matter how dark your days may seem, there is always, always something to be thankful for. This week has been rough with finals and work for Sam, finals for me, and the hustle and bustle of the week before Christmas break for our kids. We've been tired. We've been cranky. And, at times, we haven't been kind. But, we have one another. We have a roof over our heads, and warm beds to sleep in. We are thankful for so much. We had laughs this morning during our "morning routine," and there was a lot of love and kindness that filled our home.

Try to reach out and do something kind for someone today, tomorrow, next week...whether that's pay for someone's coffee while you are standing in line at Starbucks, offering to pay for a family's meal, leaving a simple note of gratitude for someone: be kind. You never know what kind of day a person may be having, so be kind. Everyone you meet may be fighting a battle you know nothing about. Someone may have lost a loved one, someone may not be a fan of the holidays...but even if you don't know the struggle you can always be kind.

So many people have been kind to our family...strangers, people we may never meet, people we know, and I am so thankful for every single person. Even if they don't know us, their devotion to helping Veterans has helped my family, and they gave us hope. I am so thankful for the kindness of the people at This Able Veteran. The work that you all do is simply amazing and life changing.  You have my heartfelt gratitude for the blessing you have given Sam and our family: Memphis.