Burned medical records

valeriec

Today we burned my mom's medical records. In June, my husband and I bought a piece of property out in the country. We are city folks and are used to things like city water, sewer, and trash. So, moving the country has been quite a change for us. We know nothing about well water, septic tanks, or flood irrigating. We are fast learners though, but not fast enough for some of our neighboring ranchers.......We have flooded their fields,.....lets just say a few times this past summer. Plus for 6 months the place was under major construction which really made them mad. Anyhow the place is great. It has a main house, a guest house(where my dad has been staying since my mom passed away), and an old school house/ Baptist Church.

The greatest enjoyment we are having right now is our brand new burn pit. I know that may sound strange, but we are really enjoying it. In town we could never burn anything. Out here we can burn all day long if we want to. It is the favorite chore right now with all of us. We actually fight to see who gets to be in control of the burn pit. We even have a sitting area around it. And today it served as a letting go thing. My dad and I decided to burn all of my mom's medical records. She passed away on 8/27/07. It was sad a first, but I told my dad.....These records are not who my mom was. This cancer was just a small , small part of who she was. For 62 years she was a wonderful mother, a loving wife and a devoted grandmother. I don't want the last 16 months to define my mom's life. I want to remember all the other stuff. All the good stuff. All the laughter, all the fun. I think it does my mom an injustice if we dwell on the last 16 months of her life. She was SO much more than that. So, as I watched those medical records go up in smoke, I felt good about remembering my mom for who she really was and letting go of some of the hurt we experienced the past 16 months.

Thanks for listening.

God bless all of you and may you have a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year.

betina61

Hi valerie, you are absolutely right,those 16 months of the life of your mother need to be forgotten,that was a very sad episode in all of your family life,good for you on that desicion of burning all those records.Let's celebrate instead your mother's life. lots of hugs to you,your father and rest of the family.

davidsonxx

I am glad you were able to let go of the bad memories of your mom illness. There are so many good memories to keep instead. I also lost my mom to cancer so I know how difficult it can be to get past those last painful memories. I am glad you can remember the good times with your mom instead.

KathiM

OH, dearheart, what a wonderful idea! I use balloons like that....tie one around my wrist, 'wear' it for awhile, remembering all the good things, and then set it free....

I'm sure your mom is smiling.

Hugs, Kathi

shmurciakova

Hi Valerie,
Now you just need to make a spot for a bonfire and invite all your neighbors over for some beer and food. Move those chairs to your new fire ring/BBQ pit. They will forgive you for all your city slicker misdeeds once they get to know you! Anyway, that is what people do in Alaska at least.
Good luck in your new home and have a very Merry Christmas!
Susan H.

hopefulone

Val, I'm so glad you were able to let go of some of the sadness and I wish you and your family a wonderful, bright, Healthy and Happy New Year. God Bless.
Diane