Award....Wordy But Worth It...

Even when you are tired of posting awards and tags, how do you not when someone thinks enough about you and your blog to pass it on to you?
Dorothy at http://mawdot.blogspot.com/, has given me the Lemonade Award. This is an award for people who know how to make lemonade out of the lemons that Life sometimes hand you. It is also a award for blogs that have a good Attitude and plenty of Gratitude. Your attitude is not determined by circumstances, but by how you respond to your circumstances. It’s how you react to events, not the events themselves, that determines your attitude. Here are the rules:Put the logo on your blog or post.Nominate at least 10 blogs, which show great attitude and/or gratitude!Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.Share the love and link to this post, and to the person from whom you received your award.How did you get a great attitude and gratitude?

An attitude of gratitude? Let's see...
My mom was never supposed to have children much less live to see her 60's. She was hit by a car when she was small, was in a body cast for one year, contracted a heart disease which later led to multiple heart attacks and two open heart surgeries. The first surgery had never been done here so she had to go to Birmingham, AL. The second surgery had never been done in the United States, they had several overseas conference calls on the procedure. They prepared us for her death after the second surgery while she was still asleep. As soon as the meeting was over my Dad went to her room and she opened her eyes and said , "I love you." She lived about 10 years after the second surgery. Her death was not caused by her heart condition, she went to meet a friend for lunch, slipped down the stairs and hit her head. She had bleeding on the brain and because of her declining health was not a candidate for yet another surgery. She also had a living will. We had her put on pain management. She lay in her hospital bed not moving, not talking for about a week. (She and I were always close and she had always told me that I would be with her when she died) I was trying my best to make some sort of a make shift bed out of two chairs in her room when I saw her move her lips as if she were talking to someone, then she would stop as if she were listening, then her lips would move again. It was clear that she was having a conversation with someone. I then felt a cool breeze blow by me and clearly heard, "Will you give us a minute please?" I looked at my mom and said, "I am going out to stretch my legs, I'll be right back." I walked immediately to the nurses station and told the nurse, "Please go check on my Mom, she is leaving us." I went and sat on the floor by the nurses station for the confirmation. The nurse came right out and said, "Your Mom is gone."

Are you wondering what this has to do with an attitude of gratitude?
My mom NEVER let her health stop her from learning to do the things she was interested in.
She didn't graduate high school because of her health. Although she taught herself how to sew, cook, paint, craft, and GARDEN to name a few. She never complained, was just happy to see another day and made the most of it. So, when I am feeling self-pity, I think of the attitude of gratitude that she had and thank the Lord that she was my mom and hopefully I can put a positive spin on the trials in my life. I am certainly grateful that I had the experience of the death angel coming for her and she was peaceful.

Please, if you visit this post, take the award. We all have had to make lemonade out of lemons at one time or another.