Pity Party
Dear Dawn,
Your Blog Tuesday, helped me realize I wasn’t the only one who had suffered poor health my whole life. I’ve never lost a child, had cancer or heart issues, but my asthma, skin issues, headaches and stomach problems often leave me discouraged and in a pity party. How did you maintain such a good attitude with all you suffered, especially the loss of your son? (And please don’t tell me you were born that way. That doesn’t help me one bit! LOL) 
Dear PP, Thanks for your note. Anyone who says they are UP all the time just because that is the way they were born, is lying. 
Every day of life requires some sort of adjustment. Each day is a challenge — I get it. I too, have health issues, the greatest challenge is the never ending discomfort of skin grafts from the burns on my arms, legs and backside. 
My skin draws up constantly, the discomfort requires thick coats of cream for softening. Not a pretty picture, but I’m getting through each setback — from asthma to food allergies to skin problems.
I will never get fully adjusted to the loss of my seven-year-old.
But I am encouraged by the words of Henry Ward Beecher, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s brother, who was a nineteenth-century minister. Having lost four of his young children so he was no stranger to the Pity Party, I am sure.
One day, sitting on a hillside in his hometown, he noticed a terrific storm coming across the valley. He wrote:
“The heavens were filled with blackness, and the earth was shaken by the voice of thunder. It seemed as though that fair landscape was utterly changed, and its beauty gone never to return.
But the storm swept on, and passed out of the valley; and if I had sat in the same place on the following day, and said, “Where is that terrible storm, with all its terrible blackness?” the grass would have said, “Part of it is in me,” and the daisy would have said, “Part of it is in me,” and the fruits and flowers and everything that grows out of the ground would have said, “Part of the storm is incandescent in me.”
Ryan
Each part of the rain in my life is part of me, and always will be.
Hang in there, kiddo. The sun still shines brightly above the storm!
Dawn
I didn’t go looking for Marion and his wife, Dene. But there they were, sitting at the table of the B & B where my sister, mom and I had breakfast. My sisters, mom and I have never understood the word ‘strangers.’ We gave them the Raymond “third degree.”
from blue mosaic pigs in Britain. . . .
to passenger trains in SE Asia. . . .
Have and happy, colorful and safe Independence Day!
When we visited the Love Locks Bridge in Paris (Pont des Arts), we were amazed by the number of locks attached to the bridge, placed there by visitors who vowed their everlasting love. “Engrave the lock, attach it to the bridge and throw the key in the Seine below.” Before we left Paris, we affixed our own Hirn lock dedicated to our son and brother, Ryan, and inscribed with all of our names and the date. Problem is, 45 tons of “love” all at once can and did cause a bridge a stability problem, and just a few years after we left, Paris decided to tear out the locks. Safety and aesthetics, they said.
So . . . if you are thinking about taking a trip to one of those places on your bucket list, Go dog, go! Now, before it’s too late. Be the ones who share your stories and photos of places you were able to see up close and personal, not the ones who look back in regret at their ‘shoulda, woulda, coulda’s.’
Some of my favorite French moments . . . . 
What’s ‘fromage’?
Teachers! They are the ones that walk beside us, behind us, and in front of us leading the way, so that one day they will step into our shoes and be the teachers.
The boys seemed to sense the reverence of these war memorials in Poland and Germany, and were certainly affected deeply by the remnants of luggage, shoes and clothing left behind. But I wonder if anything touched them as deeply as the talk their father gave them about the concentration camp introductions? (check out Youtube.com and our facebook today for the video)
Make history come alive for your child. It takes time. It takes creativity. It takes knowledge. It takes love. Be a teacher.
We are grateful for our safety when we visited England not long after another terror episode. Be vigilant wherever you go. But don’t let bullies dictate your movements.
Our cameraman takes a shot most memorable to our family at the ‘Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe’
“My other car is a . . cruise ship” the bumper sticker on the car in front of me read. Remembering our last cruise made me laugh out loud:
In Dubai, this is the norm rather than the exception. For me, it’s the opposite!
Years ago, Ron and I rented a Westfalia in Germany (remember Shaggy and Scooby-Doo’s Scooby-mobile? Add a pop-up top and you’ve got it.) We weren’t concerned about luxury camping. We had found camping across Europe to be one of the cheapest ways to go, a great way to meet people and easy to find a space for the night. There are no Walmarts in Germany, but almost everyone holds the Walmart Policy: “Park here for the night!”
Dawn Raymond Hirn 