************** METHOD_MUM **********: " THE BIG "C"

************** METHOD_MUM **********: " THE BIG "C":                                                   Thousands of individuals are diagnosed with cancer every year. As I was in 2006 result...

" THE BIG "C"

                                                  Thousands of individuals are diagnosed with cancer every year. As I was in 2006 resulting in a mastectomy and chemotherapy and ongoing medication. Today I found out another of my friends has been diagnosed with it bringing up emotions and anger in me that I cannot put down on paper. Even those who aren't stricken with the heart of the illness are touched in some way by the deadly disease. Cancer cannot destroy peace, suppress memories, silence courage, conquer the spirit, kill friendship, corrode faith, or cripple love, not having the support to fight it does. Sometimes it's hard to face things you have no control over and have the courage to continue.  That is why friends and family are important to help you along with keeping the, Faith, Hope, Strength, Love, and Courage without their support and love your battle will be lost even if you survive the cancer your heart will be so badly scared that the hurt will be with you to eternity ... People will never truly understand what it is to fight like hell to win a battle. Not until they are faced with the words, "You have cancer," No one should have to worry about dying tomorrow, but cancer patients do... I'm not afraid of dying, I'm afraid of not having fully lived before I do and being forgotten as though I have never existed.

                                                                 

Cancer isn't a joke nor is it a game or a fashion statement, so it shouldn't be treated it like one. If someone says "So-and-so has cancer." don't say "I'm sorry", ask what you can do to help them cope through it. Having a positive attitude is the best medicine for cancer .Think of someone that you love who has had or has cancer ask yourself... “Have I done all I can to help them through this journey? Were you or are you there to help them to stand up and fight this horrible monster? Were you there to hold their hand in hard times? Or to comfort them in their time of need? Did you try to understand what they could’ve been thinking or feeling at the time, when they were faced with their own mortality, or when they stood in front of the mirror and looked at their horribly scared body, or the sick feeling after their Chemotherapy, did you ever try and truly comprehend exactly what cascade of mixed up emotions were going through what is jokingly known as Chemo Brain?!!

                                                                                    

Affectionately and every time I think of this I get a smile on my face and a tear in my eye, one day, actually April 2010 my granddaughters were dropped off at my place  like many times before, my eldest princess looks up at the ceiling in my kitchen and notices in dismay that there is a crack it and points it out to me “ nonna your roof is broken “ I say “ don’t worry bubby , nonno will fix it” and that made her happy. A few weeks later Saturday 1/5/2010 to be exact my babies spent the night as it was their parents anniversary, and the eldest remembered that I told her that when she would spend the night she could wash my hair, well, as I undressed, she looked up at me incredulous, my baby goes “nonna ... your titty is broken” I say “Oh that’s ok bubby, nonna will go to the doctor and he will fix it”...so she retorts “ naaaa... nonna ... Nonno fix it”! My grandchildren they made me smile even when I was sad... they helped me through one of the toughest times in my or I shoulsd say our lives as my husband went through every emotion with me , Ahhh yes my beautiful babies  they are sunshine in my days! and the reason to fight on!!!

                                                             

                                                      "    Raise The Gong

                                                           Chemo Launch "

             

 There are many charities out there, Movember , Biggest Morning Tea, Girls Night In, The World’s Biggest Shave , Daffodil Day, Golf Day ,Relay For Life,  way to  many to mention, and they are all great charities that raise a lot of money  for research and awareness  of different cancers, but how many of us participate with the best intentions for the actual nominated Cause. How many do it for public and personal recognition... It is not a good deed if it is done for personal gratification...

There is so much Hypocrisy and so many Hypocrites, people that want others to believe that they are just what the doctor ordered and pretend to have values, opinion, qualities, feelings, character, or standards that one does not actually have, a good act can be put on to make people believe you, but in essence that makes one a Hypocrite, someone that changes their opinion and picks and chooses who should and shouldn't be supported in their time of need based on who is listening and watching them at the time ... How many husbands leave their wives because they no longer conform to what is the norm of what she is supposed to look like physically, how many people turn their backs and abandon a loved one ,friends and or family at the most crucial and devastating point of their lives, and yet go out and support charities showing the community what pillars of society they are , when in actual fact they are heartless beings, as the saying goes “ Charity Begins at Home”!! One Charity I can honestly say that did begin at home is " Raise The Gong '.

Appreciate today, tomorrow is not promised to any of  us, I believe that every morning we wake up, it is a blessing and means we are here still needed to make a difference in someones life, so say what you need to say to the people you need to say it to, you may not get the chance tomorrow. CANCER steals people's lives, their loved ones and steals all that's precious to us in this world. Whether it’s you, or a loved one. Be watchful how you treat your family and friends or even strangers for that matter as you do not know what they may be going through, if you treat them poorly the day will come that you may need someone to be there for you, you’ll find you are all alone...

        BY ANNA ROMANO
        (method_mum)                                                                 

                                                                                               

************** METHOD_MUM **********: " CIRCLE of LIFE"

************** METHOD_MUM **********: " CIRCLE of LIFE":   My Mum Teresa  at age 34         What a day it has been so many thoughts going through my mind and so many emotions, just not s...

" CIRCLE of LIFE"

 

My Mum Teresa  at age 34

 

  What a day it has been so many thoughts going through my mind and so many emotions, just not sure what do with them. Sometimes I feel like a stranger in my own life.  Looking for the right word to describe what I am feeling in the dictionary, but some feelings just can't be expressed.

Today looking at mum and how she has aged over the years, we talked about the old times, and it made me smile because she could still  remember times gone by, and  how beautiful she was when she was young , and how weathered and tired she has become , together with Luana my sister and her grandchildren , my niece and nephew Kaiden and Iziaha , we were three generations  , looking at us all I could think of was my own beautiful childhood ,and  how different have our lives been from when mum was a child, nearly ninety years ago, to when my sister and myself  were children ,  to today  and what has become important to us our children and our grandchildren,  today compared to then.

 

              
                              at age 88....           

Years, Months, Days, time goes by so fast . . . and we are only left with Memories, that is why I think we have to take every chance in life, we must be passionate about who we love, and fight for who and what we believe is worth fighting for, no matter the outcome. Life isn't always sunshine and butterflies. Sometimes we have to learn to smile through the pain, sometimes fighting for whom you love or what you believe in are the biggest sacrifices you have to make! But one you must make because you want to make memories with your loved ones, you do not want to just become a memory that someone else will talk about. It's the chances you don't take, the moments you let slip away that you look back and wish you could re-do. It's so much nicer to look back and say, I did that! We only live once, once is enough if we do it right. Live your life with class, dignity and style so that an exclamation, rather than a question mark signifies it!

 

                       

 I have come to realize the older I get the more I realize how precious life is and the less I care what people think about me. I know who matters and who doesn't, and you know? It really doesn't matter how old you get, there are times when nothing else will do, except a hug from your mother... I was just going through old, photo albums... I wish I could go back to those times and relive those moments! When life wasn't so complicated... Embrace the past, to remember where you came from. Focus on the future, to know where you are going...and always remember that a mother’s love is INFINITE.
                        

 

          By Anna Romano  


                                     

Let your heart be your compass, your mind your map, your soul your guide and you will never get lost... ~ (Unknown)

                                                                 

************** METHOD_MUM **********: THE WEDDING DRESS

************** METHOD_MUM **********: THE WEDDING DRESS:                                                                 We plan our wedding day pretty much as soon as we can walk and tal...

THE WEDDING DRESS

                                                               

We plan our wedding day pretty much as soon as we can walk and talk and we see our first Princess Movie and the White Flowing Wedding Gown, as little girls we all loved to play dress up, and planning that very special day is something a girl looks forward to all her life. It is something that she plans together with her mother, and it’s something a mother lives to be a part of from the moment her daughter is born and she holds her to  her breast , something she herself dreamt of from when she was a little girl,. There is a lot of planning in a wedding, theme, color, the menu, the music, table setting, the reception centre, guest list, and of course making sure the seating is appropriate , the bridesmaids gowns and entourage and the most important item of all is  the Wedding Dress... and that walk down the Church aisle on her father’s arm ...

                                                        " As we walk down the aisle our footsteps slow
my heart has the feelingnot to let her go . She seems still like a babe in my arms instead she's a woman with all of the charms. Now she is ready to lonve another man my arm is shaking as I reach for his hand . They walk down the alter their hearts aglow, she's the girl daddy loved so "...

                                                                     

I can never forget the emotion I felt when I saw my daughter in her wedding gown when we went for her fitting, she was a vision to behold, as she stood in front of the mirror and the sales lady placed the veil on her head, it had all become too much, the tears of pride and joy just rolled down my face, so many mixed emotions and trepidations that I to this day cannot put into words. I had  kept a picture my daughter did when she was in primary school a picture of the Wedding Dress she was going to have when she got married, the dress we had made was the same as the picture she drew when she was no more than eight or nine years old. The drives we would take, the two of us to the Bridal Shop  Peretti in Sydney, it was our time , a precious time a time we would never get back, although I must admit when we first started looking for Wedding Gowns I did the unthinkable , under much pressure I invited the future mother in law to come along... big mistake , just like the mistake I made not insisting for the service to be held at the Cathedral where she went to school , and me before her The Cathedral , where all our  the baptisms, communions, and confirmations were held , the church where our family had history, to the reception centre Raventhorpe , a place that reminded one of Gone with the Wind, but  I was too scared to say  no  and stand up for what my daughter or should I say what we as well her father and me would’ve liked and always imagined it would be..    
 

 

Tussy Mussy

a Keepsake for the Bridsemaides who wore the different styled gowns .

                                                                         

                                                                        

                                                                                                                                    

             
So my advice to any mother out there that might be reading this post ,when the time comes that your daughter needs you to help with arrangements for her wedding day from choosing the dress  to looking for the Tussy Mussy  for her bridesmaids , and deciding which bridesmaid has which design for the dresses you are going to sew , make sure you give her your undivided attention , there is no going back , it is your time with her , you will only be left with this memory, so make it a good one , it will have you last you a life time, do not worry about making her future in mother law happy  or anyone else for that matter, because trust me no one will not go out of their way for you.
 

                                                                     

The White Wedding Dress has a long and meaningful history .The wearing of a white wedding gown was a symbol of the brides purity up to her wedding day, where she would give herself to her husband on their wedding night, it was considered the greatest gift a woman could give to the man who would become her soul mate for the rest of her life. Her veil would keep the mystery of the bride till her husband lifts it when she faces him up until she takes her vows.  History has it that in the past marriages were mostly arranged to keep riches and power within the family, the couple would not meet until the actual wedding day and the groom would not know what his future bride would look like till their wedding when he lifts her veil. The wedding Dress and Veil was something that was preserved and passed down to the next generation to be worn with pride even if sometimes with alterations, its known that the dress has even been re- modeled to become Christening gowns and theses preserved to be passed on after my daughter’s wedding  I had her dress cleaned and preserved, hoping that one day one of her daughters  ( My Granddaughters )  will wear it or at the very least see how beautiful their mothers Wedding Gown was  I still have the picture my daughter drew  of this special dress  The wearing of the white Wedding Dress and Veil is nothing more than a fashion statement, it has no more meaning than wearing a pair of jeans, no sooner the bride takes off Her Wedding Dress she together with her husband is contemplating how much they can possibly get if they sold it and how fast they can put it on EBay, not giving a thought on, how much meaning it has, or if maybe one day their own daughter might want to wear it. I am an incurable romantic; maybe because I did not have the beautiful white wedding with all the trimmings, ours was a simple wedding with a simple dress , one which I kept till I had my first child where I with my mother’s help took it apart and together made the christening gown, and that christening gown .
It has been such a long time since I have written anything , but yesturday we had a ladies day and we all shared our memories of our and our childrens wedding day , and indeed it brought back many a memory and a tear to the eyes , of that very special day and that very special dress " The Wedding Gown".

By Anna Romano                                                                                    
                                                

************** METHOD_MUM **********: " GRANDPARENTS LOVE"

************** METHOD_MUM **********: " GRANDPARENTS LOVE":                          GRANDMA                  ABUELO              BABKA            LELA  PA'                        POPPY        ...