Embrace Your Bufords

Today I am grateful for Goodwill and the win-win of downsizing for us and helping others. I am also grateful for my brother Morry (Happy Birthday!) and all five of my brothers.

I have one more blog post regarding Tell My Sons. Like me, Mark Weber is a journal-keeper. It helped him pull together his book, a series of letters to his sons, in about six weeks. That is an amazing time period considering many books take years, or at least months, to come to fruition.What a gift all those years of journaling are now to him, to his family, and to all those reading his book. If you already keep journals, I don't have to convince you of their value. If you currently don't keep a journal, but have thought about it, start squeezing some more joy out of life by keeping track of the details and emotions and twists and turns of life.

You may be wondering what the title of today's blog post is all about. When he signed my copy of his book, Mark Weber left me this note: "Embrace your Bufords with courage."  I didn't look at what he had written until I got out to my car. I was intrigued by the message and assumed that I would come across what Bufords are as I read. It took me some reading, but I eventually discovered that Mark had given the name Buford to the large abdominal wound from his major surgery in August of 2010.I cannot imagine dealing with such a surgery and such lasting complications and ongoing issues as he has had to deal with. But we all have our Bufords-our challenges, our wounds that need care and healing.

What are your Bufords? Are you facing the challenges head-on or avoiding and procrastinating? Weber definitely faces his head-on, and even throws in a sense of humor. How are you caring for yourself and helping the healing progress? Weber has plenty of support from others, but starts with a strong will and spirit all his own. "Embrace your Bufords with courage."

My mastectomy scars are two visible Bufords. I faced them soon after awakening from surgery, much like Mark Weber faced his own changed body in 2010. A less visble Buford in my life was the self-hatred I had in my teens and early twenties, fueled my alcohol. That liquid courage has been replaced with faith and a true courage that stems from healthy relationships with my Higher Power and loved ones. Courage that comes when I use the tools I have been given.

Embrace your Bufords with courage today.

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