Four Years and Counting – Morning Mojo Anniversay

Cant-stop-writing

Four years ago today, December 12, 2013, I started Morning Mojo. I was so excited to begin a journey in writing, jotting down my thoughts, sharing the Good News, and providing inspiration to others. I had some big plans for this blog. I was going to write every day and gain a huge following. I had no idea of the journey God had in store for my family and me just three days after I started this blog.

I was going to write every day and gain a huge following.

Mallorie walking in the Riverfest Parade with LLS in 2015

My next enter wasn’t until December 26, the day after Christmas. I wasn’t about Santa or what was under the tree. It was a very somber Christmas that year. On December 15^th we found out our daughter had leukemia. I don’t want to spend a lot of time talking about her cancer. It sucked. All cancer sucks. I don’t care what type or the age, cancer…..sucks. But because of her illness, my writing was a lot less “mojo” and more about pain, hurt, and struggle. I even thought about changing the name to something else. I was in a writing dilemma. Instead of my blog having one voice, it shared many voices. If you would like to read the post from December 26^th, you can do so here. I haven’t had the nerve to read it since the day I wrote it.

I read so many amazing posts on here that it can give you a writing complex.

Moving on to a little bit happier times, I have been a guest blogger a few times throughout the years. That was cool. I was so nervous. I read so many amazing posts on here that it can give you a writing complex.

23131787_10213406860299962_1341159420026322287_n — Logan’s football picture. Just posting it because I think he is cute. That is all.

One of my favorite posts was about my daughter, Madison, graduating from high school. I have written some pretty good post about God and his awesomeness. I have taken writing challenges. I love my Mini Mojo posts. I even completed a couple of WordPress classes.

I’ve become one hip grandma and adopted like a million cats.

In these past four years, I have been married to my best friend (we’ve been married like nine years. He reads my post, so I want to make sure he knows that I know how long we’ve been married.)

21230788_10212929853175082_6720831687927881117_n — WWE Live at Intrust Bank Arena.

Kids have graduated, learned to drive, and Logan started kindergarten and played football for the first time. Let me be clear, he didn’t play football in kindergarten. Kindergarten was three years ago. Football was this year. And he was good. (That whole football experience is a post in itself. Stay tuned.) I’ve become one hip grandma and adopted like a million cats. I got laid off for the first time and changed jobs twice. Oh, and I can’t forget that I have attended four WWE live shows. (Insert Ric Flair wahoo here.)

These past four years have been nothing like I had planned them to be. My writing might be scattered brained from time to time, and I go months without a post, but that is ok. Maybe that is what makes Morning Mojo unique. I mean I don’t even post in the mornings very often. I am looking forward to the next four years and where my writing takes me. Who knows, maybe I can start writing articles for WWE?

My writing might be scattered brained from time to time, and I go months without a post, but that is ok.

I guess you might be wondering about Mallorie’s outcome since December 15, 2013. She had many ups and downs. She got very sick, had multiple hospital stays and lost her hair twice. She has had some emotional issues along the way. But today she is a happy, healthy 15-year-old with curly hair. She had her last treatment in May 2016. All we do now is bi-monthly check-ups. It’s freaking great!

20429704_10212645879555919_4027138146960194213_n — Mallorie this summer.

Thank you for reading and following my blog. Here is to another four years.

12644758_10207482002902230_108271755853510104_n — Me being a dork.

Baron Christmas Review

Now that the holidays are behind us, we can reflect on how awesome or not-so-awesome they were. We had a very blessed Christmas this year, but of course it wouldn’t be one without some minor hiccups along the way.

First, the Magic Mailbox was a hit. Logan loved writing Santa every evening before bed and getting his reply. Occasionally, Santa would leave a little surprise. My favorite activity was when Santa left “special beans” (Tic Tacs) and a little bucket of sugar. Logan was instructed to plant the beans and the next morning something special will grow. The next day, he harvested three candy PEZ dispensers. We will be doing it again next year for sure. I think the only thing I am going to change is starting it so early. He got a little bored with it towards the end. So maybe just do it the week before Christmas.

Around the Baron house, a holiday would not be complete without a trip to the ER. Mallorie has been in great health for months. Then randomly a day or two before Christmas, she get this rash and mouth sores. I was guessing it was a chemo thing, but her counts were good. She couldn’t eat so we had to go get some magic mouthwash. That didn’t help. The next day, back to ER for fluids. She is better now, praise God. Cancer sucks.

Then our kitty, Spencer, gets into the Christmas ham. Ok, not a biggie until the runs kick in. He used the litter box but is still learning how to cover it up and with diarrhea, he couldn’t help but step in it. He had poop prints all over the house. Luckly, I am a great hunter and could follow the tracks to clean it up.

We did have a very good Christmas. One with lots of love and laughter. I wish I could bottle up the spirit around our home and have it all year. But as you know by January 30th, things will be the same old same old. We have many things to be thankful for, even though we are not deserving.

I would also like to take this time to thank you all for reading my blog. They are just simple thoughts most of the time. They may not even make much sense, but I love to write and share. So thank you for humoring me in 2015. I am looking forward to Morning Mojo growing in 2016.

God Bless,

Dee Dee

Purrsday Poetry: Warmth Of Heart

I just read the most beautiful poem about healing after a loss of a pet. As I posted last week, we lost Lucy unexpectedly and it just crushed our hearts. To help with our healing, we decided to open up our home to another kitten. Not to replace Lucy, but to give a forever family to a little feline spirit. Well, not only did we end up adopting one, but two. They are fun, energetic balls of fur that have already become loyal companions. Enjoy!

Source: Purrsday Poetry: Warmth Of Heart

Miss Lucy

It was a Sunday afternoon in 2014. Rob and I decided on getting another cat to add to our cat family. We always adopt our cats from the local Humane Society. Not really knowing what we were looking for, we quickly fell in love with a unique tortoise shell. She was so small, only 2 months old. As she stood up in her kitty condo, we noticed her paws. This beautiful little lady had thumbs. Rob and I immediately knew we were going to give her a forever home.

The first week or so she slept a lot because she had an infection. I really wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to keep her due to the other cats. We didn’t want them to get sick too. But a little medicine and lots and lots of love, she recovered and become the best companion, with her sassy, yet regal walk and her gentle personality.

Luzy outside — Wherever we were, Lucy was there.

Lucy was the most beautiful cat I have ever seen. And unexpectedly she passed away. As Rob was turning down the street to head to work in the early morning, he noticed something laying in the road. He swerved to miss it and his headlights caught the color of the fur. He instantly knew who it was. He turned around and got out of his car, bent down and lifted the front paw. That’s when he saw the distinct feature, Lucy’s thumb.

All I remember as Rob woke me up was hearing the words. “Hit by a car.” I shot out of bed and asked him to repeat what he just said. He told me Lucy was hit by a car. I immediately started crying. I had never, not that I remember anyways, crying over an animal. Rob and I just hugged each other. We weren’t sure what to do with her. Rob said it just looked like she was sleeping. Rob, being the awesome man he is, took care of bringing her back home. I couldn’t bring myself to help. We still had to function and maintain our daily routine. I wasn’t sure what we were going to tell the kids. Maybe we should just tell them we haven’t seen her? As I was getting Mallorie around for chemo, I was feeding the other cats and just started crying. Mallorie asked me what was wrong, so I just blurted out, “Lucy was hit by a car and she is no longer with us.” I cried, she cried.

I can’t explain the emptiness and pain I felt for the loss of Lucy. While Mallorie and I were at the hospital getting her chemo, I just started tearing up again when I thought of her and how she would want attention first thing in the mornings when I was trying to get everyone up and out the door. She would not leave me alone until I would take a few minutes to pet and talk to her. It’s funny, when she wanted me to get up, she would gently climb on my back and softly nibble on my ear. Of course, I would swat her away and tell her to leave me alone. And a few seconds later, she was back. When she would be sitting on my lap, she would look me right in the eyes and raise her five-digit paw up to my face and touch it like she was telling me, “I love you.”

Prowl Lucy — Lucy loved to play in the backyard.

Mallorie’s nurse, Kim, and I were talking about the loss of Lucy and it just so happened she is a dog lover. We chatted about how hard it is to deal with the loss of a four-legged family member. She told Mallorie and I the best way to heal is to adopt another cat. Since we technically had an open spot in our home, we could rescue another kitty. Not to replace Lucy, but to love on another animal that needs a home and forever family. At first, I wasn’t so sure, but what harm is it to look? After her appointment, we met Rob at home and buried Lucy in her favorite place to play, our back yard. We said our goodbyes and tried to keep ourselves together. Shortly after that, we were off to the Humane Society.
When we got to the Humane Society, we started looking in the condos for our new addition. We only made it to the first one and there he was. The cutest little two month old tabby. He was meowing and putting his little paws up on the glass. We knew that was just the little guy we needed. We did our visit and while the lady was putting the kitten back she said, “Oh, just so you know, we are having a special, two kitties for $30.” What! That was a sign that we needed two. We started looking around again and in the same kitty condo, where we found Lucy, there was a tortie, small and sleeping. It was like I was looking at her. That fur baby was coming home with us.

As I type this post, I have my adorable, Spencer, purring in my lap. He is only 2 months old and is as precious as they come. He is loving and thinks he is my big helper. This little guy was found in a parking lot, now he has a home with lots of excitement and love. Lizzy, our sweet tortie, is four months old. She reminds me so much of Lucy. She’s dainty and demanding when she wants attention. And every so often she will reach out her paw and touch my face. It completely warms my heart. Kim was right, adopting our new little fur balls did help ease the pain of the loss of Lucy. It reminds me that Lucy did have a good life when she was with us and even if she was only with us for a short time, she touched my heart and I will never forget that beautiful spirit or those sassy paws.

We love and miss you Lucy Lu. — We love & miss you Lucy Lu.