What a beautiful day....

When you have a day like today, there is no doubt that the earth was created by a higher power. No matter who we consider that to be, while following our particular faith. I defy anyone to sit in the warm glow of the sun with a gentle breeze touching you ever so slightly and not marvel at the experience of living. This winter has been so hard for a normal person to get around let alone a person whose every step is a challenge. The bitter cold made every bone in my body ache and the cold cloudy days tempted me into bouts of depression surely caused by lack of sunlight. It's so hard while in the midst of such hard times to see the light at the end of the tunnel and not believe you should turn and run because the light is surely another train coming. And then comes Spring. And just as a mother does with labor pains, all is forgotten and a new season is begun. My thought is that if every mother remembered the severity of labor pains no more children would be born but when we see the results the bad is forgotten and the good comes through just as Winter flow into Spring. I believe in the ying and yang of life...the good an the bad. I try to always look for the good but know that the bad must be there to make us appreciated the plan of it all. I am on this incredible journey to the end of my life and I defy anyone to take this experience away from me. My Lord and I walk hand in hand through the sun and rain some times laughing and sometimes crying but always together. There's a song, "One is the loneliest number that you've ever heard" and no truer words have been sung but we need not ever be alone. Even with death the prospect of life ever after in beautiful heaven is so appealing. You see my journey will soon take me to NYC. Me this 61 year old woman from Illinois has taken all the money I could muster and am flying to NYC because I BELIEVE. April 26th I will board a plane in St Louis, Missouri and fly to New York City for two days to participate in the annual Parkinson's Unity Walk. Who would have ever believed that this could be happening to me? I started early this morning trying to get my computer skills to respond to my brain so I could log my daily experiences in for anyone to read and finally at four in the afternoon the two are in rhythm and I am typing. Though the brain is making an effort to wander the thoughts are flowing well. So back to the walk. We (people who know and care about Parkinson's) have collected over one million dollars this year already and we have a week to go before the walk. At my favorite site Patientslikeme.com the enthusiasm is running high and each of us is in the pursuit of a cure. The more we get involved the easier the day is to endure and the more e can show the world how important we are to this earth. We have Tomte Woman and Butterflynana working on the badges to be carried in the walk in honor of those who could not attend. We have Tom and Lady Hawk and Judy and I and Dixie walking on teams like the Patientslikeme Team. We are making and going past or goals and dreams. The site has set their minds to help us at every turn as a family does. No question is too small for the team behind the screen; Our Devine Ms.M and Mr.T and Paul. Then our cheering squad...every member be they old or new catches on to the feeling and spurs each other on...From all over the world we are operating in such harmony and peace and our days are going by very fast instead of the never ending hours we went through before. I will try to bring this post to a close though I can talk for ever about my friends. They are the sunshine that brings the Spring to my life. I invite you to visit us or if you will go to the 2008 Parkinson's Unity Walk site and make a donation for someone you love. There are so many of us being diagnosed every day with this deadly disease and there is no cure...but there will be. Obviously... the previous was from April when I traveled to NYC but the message is still good as are times. The site has grown to a huge 2000 plus posters and members and growing daily. Th information circulating is just unbelievable and once again I am planning to travel. This time I am traveling to Atlanta, Georgia for the Annual Young Onset Parkinson's Convention. This like NYC will be my first time and though I have no idea what to expect, my emotions are just unbelievably high. So with this new blog, I start a new adventure....I christen this site "Coffee with Pokie" inspired by one of my closest friends on the site Karen (butterflynana). Her undying love and encouragement keep me going when I pray for strength....Her laugh can surely melt ice in some far away land and though usually racked with pain she always has time for a friend. I am also dedicating this to my dad (grampa)who I feel next to me laughing often late at night when the words start to flow. Someone said, "Pokie I see angels" and how lucky am I to have them both on earth and heaven cheering for me. love always, pokie