A Little Something Pollyanna Taught Me...

**Note to Reader: This is very "bloggish" and this is Whitney... so of course this is going to be long winded. There are no real updates on my dad in this post other than that he's feeling better than he expected after the first round of chemo (although the nurses say the third day after is usually when you really start feeling crappy... so we'll see how he is tomorrow) and will have his next infusion on Thursday. Ready for the fluffy stuff? Here it is:

Everyone has seen Pollyanna... right? OMG- I LOVED this movie when I was little (and all of the Disney Classics in this same Haley Mills genre... do you even know how many times I have seen The Parent Trap?) and part of it has really always stuck with me. In the movie she is orphaned and sent to live with her mean, rich aunt... and is always playing "The Glad Game" -- where she looks for something to be glad about in every situation (no matter how crappy it is). Here is a little synopsis I copy and pasted about it from Wikipedia:
"Pollyanna's philosophy of life centers on what she calls "The Glad Game", an optimistic attitude she learned from her father. The game consists of finding something to be glad about in every situation. It originated in an incident one Christmas when Pollyanna, who was hoping for a doll in the missionary barrel, found only a pair of crutches inside. Making the game up on the spot, Pollyanna's father taught her to look at the good side of things—in this case, to be glad about the crutches because "we don't need 'em!". "

Soooo anyways... Like I said- this has always stuck with me and I have found myself always playing this game in my head when something crappy happens. I mean if Pollyanna can become paralyzed and be "glad" that at least she had legs... then I can usually find something pretty easily when the going gets tough. Since all of this Cancer stuff has been going on I have been trying my darnedest to stay positive, and look for the bright side because if my dad can do it and he's the one who actually has the cancer, then I should definitely buck up and not be some kind of Negative Nancy about all of this. BUT with all of the set backs there have been, and new random cancers that pop up, it has been a bit more difficult to not just be pissed off at the world and like scream at someone who says their dog is dying to GET OVER IT!! YOU CAN BUY A NEW ONE! Soooooo I have been very actively playing The Glad Game like it is my job so I don't have a million enemies... and here are somethings that have kept me focused with a smile on my face:

I am Glad That...
- I have a dad that I am so obsessed with... some people have dead beat dads or dads that beat the crap out of them when they were younger. I am glad I am my dad's daughter...
- my Dad comes from an amazing family that has helped raise us and been with us every step of the way on this journey and will always be there.
- I have my sisters... I can only imagine how hard this would be if I were an only child.
- my grandparents an my dad taught me the power of being surrounded by your family... since all of this started happening I feel my body sometimes aching for my sisters, my cousins, my aunts, and my uncles... I am so grateful for them.
- my Dad has the BEST attitude ever through out all of this... I cannot imagine going through this if he was down in the dumps, or not ready to fight the good fight. I don't think my dad has spent one second feeling sorry for himself... I think he is more worried about the 3 of us girls than he is about anything else.
- we all can have a sense of humor about this... my dad is definitely dealing with a lot of this with jokes. The other night me, Kyle, Ryan and my dad were playing Scattegories and my dad was putting some bogus answers we were disputing... and his response would be, "but I have Cancer..." and he officially gets to keep the point. :)
- we have an amazing team of doctors on our side who already love my dad.
- my dad has Renee in his life... despite him calling her his "current squeeze" as if there is another chick waiting in the wings, she puts up with him and is really really good for him.
- Ryan and I bought our new house and we are not only super close to all of my dad's doctors, but that we have room to have him and my sisters, aunts, uncles, whoever, stay over when they are in town and we can all be cozy.
- this whole process has really made me realize I can't take any of the time we have hear on earth for granted. I want to soak in every minute and live life as fully as I can.
- (this is totally morbid... BUT) my dad has a great prognosis... I can't imagine not having a dad. I can't imagine how people function that don't get to say good bye... if there was a car accident or something. I am glad that we now know how precious every minute is with my dad and have the opportunity to say things we may not have said if we thought he was going to be here forever... (totally morbid, I know... but hopefully it makes sense.)
- I believe in the power of prayer and that I know lots of people are sending lots of prayers up for us... I think this whole thing would be a lot harder to deal with I didn't believe in a higher power.
- my grandparents and Joey are up in heaven telling The Big Man that Tom's Girls need him to be here for many, many, many, more years... and I know he's listening.
- all of us are surrounded by tons of friends and family that love us and are rooting for us every step of the way.

And more selfishly... I am glad that:
- all of this cancer stuff started after my dad practically remodeled our new house (the 3 of us girls are beyond spoiled when it comes to our dad fixing/making/helping with any and everything... and he pretty much made our new house a home by putting in amazing laminate flooring, scraping our popcorn ceiling and re-texturizing them... and they are vaulted! They look amazing! Oh... and he helped with the move, painting, decorating, pretty much everything from start to finish... I told you, I'm spoiled!)
- my dad is letting me be a complete control freak about appointments, prescriptions, going to appointments, etc... its the only way I feel like I am doing *something* that can help get him better.
- if this was going to happen... that it happened when it did. Had it been going on a few months or even weeks earlier, I would have probably had a mental breakdown dealing with the summer craziness at work and somehow trying to get to all of these doctors appointments and make all of these phones calls. Which brings me to the next thing I am glad for...
- I work where I do. They have been so amazing during all of this... they don't bat an eye when I need to come in late or leave early or take a sick day. Speaking of sick days...
- I had almost 300 hours of sick time on the books... so I don't have to be the least bit stressed when I do have to take time off.
- I have an amazing husband who has been incredible through all of this... he knows when I need to cry, need someone to listen, need to be left alone, or when I just need a hug. I am glad that he loves my dad.
- "The Glad Game" really works for me... and always has. ;)


And there ya have it folks... a little something I learned from Pollyanna. Even when it seems like the whole world is crapping on you, you can always be glad that at least it isn't diarrhea. (ewww... not really sure why I am ending it that way-- but it kind of cracked me up in a gross way!) :) haha

Oh... and one last quote from the book Pollyanna that her dad told her to remember:
"When you look for the bad expecting it, you will find it."


~Whitney... serious blogger