Welcome to Sunflower Chronicles
I’m Sandra. thank you for visiting. I love to look at life through a lens of positivity, seeking bright moments among the challenges that will inevitably be part our lives. Over the last few years as I faced an especially difficult health crisis, I adopted one of my favorite quotes as a personal mantra:
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. It’s what the sunflowers do.” – Helen Keller.
This mantra gave me resiliance and hope. I noticed cheerful sunflowers everywhere and was reminded to turn my face towards the sunshine and cling to faith. I especially loved the ones growing bravely along country roads. I was inspired to look for joy even in the tough moments. My hope is that through the sharing of story, you too will see sunflowers along life’s winding path.
Refreshed by the Rain
Snuggled in my office on the first morning of...forever. The feeling inside me is a mix of relief, joy, possibility. There’s a bit of angst too. I’ve set aside my need to be super woman and admitted to my oncologist CNP that I’m exhausted. She pointed out that after...
Glimpses of Dad
A quiet moment suddenly is transformed into an extraordinary one when the sight of someone or thing triggers a memory, touches our hearts and brings us close again to a loved one. This morning I was blessed to catch a glimpse of my dad. Memories of his smile flooded my mind as I watched the man in the pew in front of me…
Perseverance
I’ve been a little agitated lately; there’s so much I want to do each day, and too few hours available. Always, I run out of energy before I get to that one thing that I wanted most to accomplish. I’m still adjusting to the idea that my physical energy is not yet...
Pancakes!
Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent on the liturgical calendar. Ash Wednesday offers us a beautiful, solemn moment of pause where we can consider our attitudes and actions, recognize where we are wandering off the path, and turn back to God. Many take this...
Behold! I’m doing a new thing!
There is a light blanket of fresh snow blanketing the lawn this first morning of 2024. I greet this day, this new year, with hope and enthusiasm.
As so many of us do at the dawn of a new year, I’ve been reflecting on the journey of the last few years. And like many I confess to thinking: “Surely this year will be easier than the last.”
In spring of 2022, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and began the challenging path of treatment. December 28, 2022, with great relief I rang the bell, signifying the end of chemotherapy. I was excited for 2023 even as I knew it would hold more challenges, starting with a bilateral mastectomy in January.
I had no idea what lay ahead…
