Paul's Heart

Walk And Chew Gum

This morning’s walk was quite an active one, much more than I like the morning walk to be.  For me, it is about starting my day, with a clear head, with a positive direction.

Everything can change during this walk, depending on what has happened in the days before.  As of late, you may as well throw everything I am dealing with in a blender and hit the “puree” button.

Like I said, I want my day to start off slowly, and constructively.  I only got a couple of blocks from the front door, when three or four things that have been on my mind regularly, quickly jumbled around in my head for the top story to be dealt with today.

Just as I lost focus of my morning ritual, there he was, Oakley.

Though Oakley’s coat was much darker than what a golden retriever normally had, he was definitely a golden.  And yes, being the sucker I am for goldens, I had to stop and pet him.  This is not the first time that I have seen Oakley.  It is only natural that he has a very friendly personality.  I immediately got down on the ground so that my head was at the same level as his big “square head.”

Oakley lets me pet him, much the same way I used to pet Pollo, rubbing his chest under his chin, scratching and rubbing his ears, and of course reminding him just how handsome he is.  As I looked up to carry on a conversation with his owner, taking my attention away from Oakley, I got a reminder that my attention was desired somewhere else.

Just as Pollo used to do to me, Oakley took his left front paw, and placed it on my right arm which had been resting on my knee, similar to shaking “paws.”  I looked at Oakley and he had that huge golden grin.

Slowly my focus regained momentum, to start my day as I was intending to, one detail at a time, clear, and sharp.  I lowered Oakley’s paw back to the ground, stood up, and said goodbye to both Oakley and his owner, so that I could continue on my way.  Oakley was not ready to say goodbye, as he stayed in a seated position.  I crossed the street and looked back.  Oakley’s owner was trying to convince him it was time to move on, and Oakley was having no part of it.

Funny, Pollo had a stubbornness about him too.  Oakley was not ready to go, he wanted more attention from me.  Or perhaps he was just helping me, getting me to slow down my thoughts.  Enjoy the day.

Thank you Oakley.

2 More Milestones… One Big One To Come

I was thrilled when I saw the view counter turn over 15,000 for “Paul’s Heart.”  But as I sat down this evening to write my current post, I was greeted by WordPress that today was the 2nd Anniversary of “Paul’s Heart.”  I keep a lot of “anniversary” dates, but admittedly, this one slipped my mind.  I have always enjoyed writing, going waaaaaay back to junior high school when I started writing poetry and song lyrics.  But from a professional level, things took off for my about four years ago when I got the opportunity to write through a volunteer writing program at Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center called “Visible Ink.”

“Visible Ink” matches up patients and survivors with a professional coach.  Writers can just write to put their feelings and experiences on paper (I call it therapy), or writers may have something more structured in mind.  I have had several things published through MSKCC and beyond.  And to reach a bigger audience, I started “Paul’s Heart.”  Originally intended to share my experiences as a long term cancer survivor, I have used “Paul’s Heart” to share other experiences as well.  I have written topics about education, bullying, animals, fatherhood, and over the last year, about divorce.

But the milestones do not stop.  Though to official counters, this will be my 400th post, though officially I am not going to count this as my 400th, because I just simply stating the obvious.  There is no effort just to state facts.  They are what they are.

And the official counter on my homepage has now announced that I am less than 2 months away from my 25th anniversary, free from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Thank you everyone for keeping “Paul’s Heart” going, for all your warm comments and suggestions.

Paul

2015 Off To A Great Start!!!

Happy New Year to all my readers and followers of “Paul’s Heart”!!!  The year is just barely 12 hours started, and amazing news is that “Paul’s Heart” has now had over 15,000 views in just its second year.  This is up from just 5000 that I had last year at this time.  So I want to take this time to thank each and every one of you right now for your support, your readership, and your sharing.

As I wrote in my last post, I personally want 2015 to be more positive.  That does not mean there will not be less than positive things that get written about on my blog, but I am going to try to make the blog more inspirational.  I want the blog to do what it has been intended to do, and that is help people.

Starting this year, I will continue to discuss my issues with being a long term cancer survivor as well as my life as a single father and the divorce process itself.  But I also want to expand my efforts to other topics as well.

One of the biggest successes I experienced on “Paul’s Heart”, and I believe benefited so many readers, was hearing the stories of others who have gone through issues of survivorship in one form or another, and I would like to continue to offer others an opportunity to tell their story here, on “Paul’s Heart”, in their own words.  So, if you have an inspirational story that you would like to share on “Paul’s Heart,” please send it to me at pedelmanjr@yahoo.com .  I would be honored to have your story shared on this blog.

Of course, if there is a particular question or topic that you would like to see written about on this blog, please email me your questions or suggestions at pedelmanjr@yahoo.com .

Once again, thank you all for your support and encouragement.  And Happy New Year!!

Paul