This week… Boris the warrior fought his first fight, and came off slightly damaged. A visit to the vet, some fur shaved off, lots of growls and cries, local anaesthetic injected, 5 clips inserted, and the lovely Paula said “ If you say 162 dollars very fast, it might not be so bad”!!!
This week… the flowers in the garden continued to show their glory. Deep purple tulips, ruffled red poppies, foxgloves in various shades, and Dutch Iris in purple.
This week.. I finally found the batik fabrics to continue with the Midnight Mystery quilt. Deep purple, with fans of purple on black, 2 shades of blue, and a beautiful teal green with other colours as well in that fabric. Thanks, Dianne at Village Books and Crafts, you can find her at College Street, Palmerston North. So many goodies there, I was very restrained and came home with the four that I needed!!! The other blocks are almost finished, just waiting for the new borders or inset squares.
This week… the firewood pile is high and mighty, thanks again to Anne and Norman, 3 more trees cut down, split and stacked. The shed roof was repaired, and looks so waterproof. I stood and waited for rain, but knew when it does fall, all the wood inside will be dry, Thanks Norm, for the extra building and carpentry.
This week …I watched TV, and saw the Head Monitor of Christchurch Boys High School give his valedictory speech at the end of year Prize Giving. Jake Bailey, an inspiration to each one of us, was diagnosed with cancer a week earlier.
There is a link for the video, and I also watched the whole prize giving ceremony, thanks to CBHS. At the end of the ceremony, and after Jake had returned to hospital, the school choir sang, and then it was announced that all the monitors would also sing, they said they made this choice after the events of the past three weeks. Every one stood and joined in , pupils, teachers, and parents.
“ You’ll Never Walk Alone”
Below is an excerpt from some of his speech.
Jake gave his speech from a wheelchair, and at the end students performed an emotional haka .
"I wrote a speech and then a week before I was due to deliver it they said, you've got cancer," Jake said.
"They said if you don't get any treatment you'll be dead in three weeks. And they told me that I wouldn't be able to come and deliver this speech here tonight".
Here's the thing, none of us get out of life alive. So be gallant, be great, be gracious and be grateful for the opportunities that you have … I wrote this before I knew I had cancer and now I have a whole new spin on it.
“Forget about long-term dreams. Let’s be passionately dedicated to the pursuit of short-term goals. Work with passion and pride on what is in front of us. We don’t know where we might end up or when it might end up.”
“I don’t know where it goes from here, for any of us – for me, for you. But I wish you the very best in your journey, and I thank you all for being part of mine.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9G1Swk26ac
My thanks to CBHS, Jake Bailey, and courtesy of the Internet for this content and the links. A man who is an inspiration to his fellow students, the teachers, all parents, and his family .
Quotation of the day, author unknown
“ May we all have the strength to endure pain,
wisdom to think things through,
and courage to face fears”
Greetings from Jean
22 comments:
It is just so sad to hear such a thing about such a very young man. I pray for him to get better and survive this. Carol
wow, bless that young man and all who love him.
and bless your young kitty.
Bless the young man, and bless your sweet kitty. Your photos are lovely.
So many young people getting cancer any more...it just should NOT be. I wish that young man well. Are doctors in New Zealand any more open to treatments other than chemo & radiation than they are here in the States?
Your flowers are so pretty. We had our first snow today. Not too much and it didn't stick for long, but still...snow! I'm not looking forward to winter.
Batiks...what can I say...love them. And have a bunch of them that I just need to use. But they have to go into the perfect quilt and it's hard to decide what that will be. LOL
A busy week.
I saw the video of Jake giving the speech with tears in my eyes. Did not see the whole ceremony though - it sounds very moving as well.
Firewood pile looks good.
The rain that was forecast for today has not come and things are really dry here
Very inspiring!
Wow, what a boy Jake is. I'll say a prayer for him, Jean.
Your colour choices for the new quilt are gorgeous!
And poor Boris. I hope for everyone's sake he learns to walk (run) away next time.
Oh, poor Boris. I hope he heals quickly! Beautiful spring flowers, and I love the quilt fabric.
Hello Jean, the young man Jake is an inspiration to all. I hope your kitty has recovered. I love your gorgeous flowers, poppies are one of my favorites. Enjoy your day and the weekend!
Such an inspiring young man. I certainly hope his cancer treatments will be successful.
Your blooms are gorgeous! And I think you got off lucky with your vet bill for Boris. Veterinary services seem to be A LOT more expensive in Canada. What warm comfort that woodpile and quilting blocks represent!
Your poor pocket book, as well as cat! Sigh.
I recall a teacher from New Zealand, on a teacher exchange, she taught the boys a haka which they performed for the NZ diplomats at a concert. It was so cool!
We are working hard at being positive about JB's cancer. We keep away negative people.
I ahve a new client, too, just put on a catheter, and already has a colonocopy bag. It's tough.
Oh my.....Jean this is a very memorable post.
Starts with life as you experienced it this past week....beautiful flowers in your garden, a wonderful photo of your very brave cat, a woodpile to end all woodpiles and this very brave and courageous young man. We both watched him express things about life far beyond his years. We send him and his community healing and positive energy to help them get through this time.
Thanks Jean......this was very touching and inspirational.
Good luck to Hugh and his eye surgery.
Such sadness when one so young in age (and so wise already) is taken ill. That poppy is so very lovely, Jean. I scattered more red in my fall seeds.
What a lot going on in your neck of the woods! Poor Boris, I hope there was a lesson learned ... but probably not. The lovely flowers are so refreshing to see while things around Tokyo are shutting down for the season.
The wood pile is astonishing. I think a haka for Jake .... well, that should make him a winner if nothing else does.
Then there is the piecing. I just love those batiks. Are they a local specialty?
I do hope Boris is on the mend, vets are expensive, but then again so are doctors, dentists..... Love your frilly flowers, beautiful.
Oh Boris shame on you....I hope he mends well...maybe he'll stop and think next time? One can hope, for the sake of your pocketbook, lol. Lovely flowers. So sad about that young man - I pray he can beat this.
Oh, my...my prayers for the young man....I hate cancer so much...and pray for a cure.
Very nice !
Your spring flowers are so cheery for us N hemisphere folks, and your woodpile is admirable. Your quilt fabrics are lovely, I like the dark patterned fabrics and the purple and teal color scheme, it will look sensational. Jake is so courageous for such a young man, a real inspiration to everyone.
I am glad that Boris is okay! And what lovely flowers. You made me feel warmer for a moment!!!! I adore the colors of your quilt. Wow - you are so talented!!!
Last but not least - Jake sounds like an amazing young man. I'm glad he gave his speech and inspired so many people.
Your quote certainly hits home for me tonight. Thank you.
Jake's story was repeated often here in Canada on CBC. I had tears in my eyes as I read his words and the poignancy of the truth in them and how quickly he was called to live by them. Amazing.
Meanwhile, what beautiful bloom you have. Thanks Jean for sharing; I will enjoy them and any flower pictures greatly as we now have closed our gardens and soon will be snow covered.
Bless this young man. Cancer is such a hard thing to overcome. I hope a miracle can happen for him. Poor Boris........I know how it feels to have to take a "fighter" to the vet. It is so costly. This is one reason I will not let my newest kitten Taboo go out. The older cat that was dropped on us is still here and Taboo always hisses and growls when he sees him. Such beautiful flowers and your wood pile looks very good right now to me.......as it is cold and blowing high wind today!
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