Brave Enough To Be Bliss

“I hope you believe that you can still make a beautiful life for yourself even if you lost many years of it to grief, or darkness, or a wound that wouldn’t close.” Unknown

I posted a blog about my upcoming birthday week in late February of 2023. Since this book is already long enough, I didn’t reprint it, so please go to the link, give it a read and watch the video so you can visually see the difference in me from my 50 th birthday to the next link that will have a video from my 55 th .

Birthday Week (gingerbliss.life)

The next blog I posted was following the birthday party, so again, to save a few pages, please go to the link and read about it. I did reprint the toast in case you’d prefer to read rather than watch the video because it does have some background noise from others on the opposite side of the bar. You might just watch a little of it, though, and compare it to what you saw in the video from the link above. There is also a video of me dancing with my daughter, which was one of the most meaningful parts of the night for me.

Stand by you... (gingerbliss.life)

Birthday Party Toast (same as what I speak in the first video from the link right above) My heart is truly overflowing because of each and every person here with me, and anyone watching online you are in my heart and this toast is also for you. There are so many things I could say tonight it could literally fill a book, and soon it will now that I have the ending. When people have asked how the book is coming along or when it will be finished, it’s been tough to know how to answer that because it has just been unfolding, it’s not something I have forced. I just knew that I would know it in my heart and mind when I had the ending. For me, it’s easier to refine the middle when I know the beginning and the end. Everything flows together when I have it thought through in my mind with those bookends, so to speak. Within the past week it occurred to me, this celebration is the end of the book. Tonight is the culmination of everything I’ve learned. It isn’t the ending of the story of my life, but it’s the ending of the book I’ve been working on which is really the start of the next phase of my life. It has nothing to do with my age, but rather it has to do with a decision I made to DO better for my daughter, and because of that inspiration, to eventually BE better for myself. That decision can be made at any age, it’s never too early and it’s never too late. A few things led me to want to have this party…and if I get teary at points during this toast, it’s ok, just give me a moment, no need to feel uncomfortable because I’m actually not anymore. I consider it a badge of honor that I now have the ability to shed tears and not keep them locked inside. I have an elementary school friend, Tami, who contacted me on Saturday, January 21 at 10:06 a.m. to tell me her dad had an accident and would soon be taken off life support. I had woken up that day feeling really sick so I couldn’t go see her because the l ast thing she needed was to be sick on top of grieving. All I could think of when I heard the news of his passing was what a wonderful, loving, faith filled man he was. When I say loving, I mean he truly exuded love. Being in his presence was to be surrounded by love. My heart of course ached for my friend and her entire family thinking about how they must be hurting but given my limited recent in person interaction with him, it surprised me how much the loss hit me too. A couple days later I checked in with my friend and of course didn’t tell her how I was feeling, but she sent me a text as if she knew, “Ginger, my dad loved you! There was something about you that was so endearing to him. It’s kind of ironic that you became sick the weekend that my dad pass ed away.” Those words still touch my heart today. A couple months earlier, he commented on Facebook, “Ginger, could we be your unofficial godparents? We daughter love you.” I said, “You can be my official ones as I don’t have any.” He said, “Can you start the paperwork?” I said, “Sure, I’ll get it started!” He said, “Great,” with a heart and hug emoji. He may have just been teasing me, but I did search for and print a godparent certificate and intended to get it mailed to him and his wife just to let him know how much it meant to me he took the time to say that. It was a busy time with physical therapy, work, illnesses, holidays, and maybe I was scared they’d think it was silly of me, but the point is I didn’t send it and get the chance to tell him how much his kindness and love meant to me.

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