Three Months Ago

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Positively Alyssa

Loss can distort our sense of time and may cause months or years to feel like only days. Although I am sadly aware our sweet cat Sundance passed away three months ago today, I remember every moment as clearly as it was yesterday. It is so hard to wrap my mind around the thoughts that three months ago, I had to witness him struggle in pain and take his final breath. Many have told me I did everything I could to take care of him, but I still feel like I failed him, and the image of his lifeless body haunts me. Sundance had a loving and pure heart and knew only love, kindness, and acceptance. Why did Sundance have to get an inoperable tumor on his lung, and why could the doctors not remove it and give him a donor’s lung? Why do bad things happen to innocent animals, but the vilest humans will continue living without issues? These issues hardly seem fair to me.

I know the way I am thinking about this loss is due to the continuous grief felt. The never-ending pain from losing our precious cat has been relentless, and his memories are in every part of the house and our hearts. I will always be thankful for our years with Sundance, and there will not be a day that passes that we will not miss him. For reasons I cannot fully explain, our house has an emptiness looming around because this little cat consumed much of the house and our hearts. Even though it has been three months since he passed away, I continue to expect his presence to be waiting when I get home, and although he is not there physically, I can feel the love, kindness, and magical parts of him that will never fade.

I cannot explain my reasons, but I blame myself for not saving his beautiful life. Of course, I realize I did everything I could to keep him comfortable and loved, but I am not sure that was enough. I might not be able to keep my emotions in check, but I know no human being can stop death from occurring because it is part of life. Mortality is not easy to accept and understand, but it will happen to all of us. Our mortality is much different than that of an innocent animal, or at least it is for me. Animals are one of the only creatures in this world that are purely innocent and deserve more than most receive. Animal cruelty does not make sense to me, and how anyone could ruthlessly kill their pet is a form of narcissism and evilness that is beyond shameful.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I do not typically do more than one post daily, but this one is an exception because Sundance should always be remembered, and never forgotten. I am thankful Sundance lived a happy life and was treated with love and respect. My husband and I do not have two-legged children, but we treat our cats like they were our children and may even treat them better than some treat their children. Of course, I even treat the outside feral cats with much love and kindness because I do not think they receive it from anyone else, which makes me sad. I hope your day goes well, and you can appreciate how I feel about the loss of our cat, but hope you never go through anything like this. Please never forget I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Never forget

Posted on September 11, 2022 by Positively Alyssa

Today was a day of horrific memories, commonly known as 9/11. Four coordinated suicide attacks were said to be carried out by the militant Islamic extremist network, al-Qaeda which was following orders from Osama bi Laden to attack the United States of America. These attacks were organized into three groups of five members and another group of four members. Each of the groups included one designated flight-trained hijacker who took control of the aircraft.

Unfortunately, this will always be a day no one will ever forget. Everyone in the United States can remember where they were and what they were doing when the news broke about the plane crashing into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan at 8:46 AM. We did not have time to digest the tragic news of the first plane crashing into the North Tower before a second plane crashed into the South Tower at the World Trade Center at 9:03 AM. We all watched in horror as the two 110-story towers collapsed to the ground within an hour and forty-two minutes, which lead to the collapse of other structures in the World Trade Center including 7 World Trade Center, and caused substantial damage to the surrounding buildings.

A third hijacked flight crashed into the West side of the Pentagon, which is the headquarters of the American Military located in Arlington, Virginia thirty-one minutes after the first attack at 9:37 AM. This attack caused a partial collapse of the side of the building.

The fourth and final attack was heading towards Washington, DC. It has been suggested the passengers were alerted about the previous attacks this day and tried to take control of the aircraft to prevent another attack from crashing into its intended target. The passengers struggled with the hijackers onboard and ended up crashing the plane in a field in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania at 10:03 AM.

The tragic terrorist events that occurred 21 years ago resulted in 2,977 fatalities, over 25,000 injuries, and countless considerable long-term health consequences. In addition to the numerous lives lost, there was at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damages.

This terrible event remains to be the deadliest terrorist attack in human history. This was also the single deadliest event for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States. There were 343 firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers killed because of this terrorist act.

Although it is not easy to think about what happened 21 years ago today, we should always try to remember the fallen loved ones and heroes that lost their lives. There are still many questions that will go unanswered, and we may never know the full truth because all we have to go on is what the government tells us, and given their track record for the truth, who knows what is real? In situations like this, we must hold onto hope and faith because those are the only things that can help us at times.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I know this is another rather sad post, but I do hope it helps you remember the good people that tried saving lives during this terrifying event. I hope you are having a good weekend and staying safe. I look forward to reading your comments and I will respond as quickly as possible. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Missing you still

Posted on September 9, 2022 by Positively Alyssa

Of all the posts I have written and will write in the future, posts like this one are always the most difficult. September 9, 2013, was the day when my entire world was turned upside down and inside out because I lost someone that I considered to be my hero. My Grandfather, that I called Poppy was my rock and he kept me grounded through many life struggles. Losing him was one of the worst times in my life and I did not have my rock to help me through it. I thought my Poppy hung and moon and stars, and he could do no wrong in my eyes.

When I lost him nine years ago, he took a HUGE piece of my heart with him, but the lessons I learned from him will always live on in me. As much as I continue to try, there is no way I can ever be as great as he was, but I will never stop trying because I want to make him proud.

My Poppy was honest, caring, devoted, understanding, loving, compassionate, fair, and many other amazing qualities. I do not think there is anyone now or will ever be anyone else like him because he truly was one of a kind. I think that it is possible that God broke the mold when he made him. During my entire life, he never once disappointed me and I always knew that I could rely on him.

I have so many fond memories of him that I will never forget and will treasure until the end of time. He was a pro golfer that dedicated his life to the sport. I can remember times he tried showing me how to play and even though I was not doing well, he never gave up on me. I did not enjoy trying to play golf, but I did enjoy driving the golf cart around his golf course. As a young child, I loved being with my Poppy and rarely paid attention to the other golfers. There were numerous times I was in the way and had close calls with getting hit by the golf balls flying through the air, but he never raised his voice to me when he told me to watch where I was walking.

I remember driving in the car with him while he was singing. There is one songhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8A9Y1Dq_cQ that I will never forget because he loved to sing it. Every time I hear Seven Spanish Angels by Ray Charles and Willie Nelsonhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8A9Y1Dq_cQ, I can hear him singing. Of course, now I am unable to get through the song without crying because I miss him SO much.

I think one of the hardest things for me is, that I never got to say “goodbye”. I wanted to go visit him because I knew he was sick, but he did not want me to fly all that way to see him. I think he was trying to protect me because he did not want me to see him sick and suffering. It is so hard because the last image I have of him is when we went to his funeral. It is hard to get that image out of my mind because while it did look like him, that was not the man I remember. I am not sure he knew just how much I loved and admired him and that breaks my heart.

Out of everyone in my family, both my mother’s side and father’s side, my Poppy was my heart and soul. I idolized him and thought he would live forever. I will never forget when my uncle called me to tell me about Poppy passing away. The call caught me off guard for several reasons, one being that my uncle never calls me, but the other is because I could not believe the words coming out of his mouth. I could not understand how a man like my Poppy could be gone and I just wanted to see him again. I know someday, I will be reunited with my Poppy, and I just hope he will tell me that he is proud of the woman I had become.

In all honesty, I am thankful everyday that I had a grandfather as special as mine was. Everyone who knew him was lucky because he loved unconditionally and would do anything for those he cared about. Sadly, all his friends and family lost a magical and amazing human being nine years ago and will forever miss him. He touched so many lives and made a HUGE difference for so many.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you have had a good week and you are ready for the weekend to begin. I know this was a sad post, which I am sorry to end the week this way. Unfortunately, I will have a heavy heart today because I do miss my Poppy. I hope he is looking down from Heaven and he is enjoying the best golf courses ever created and he is proud of who I am today. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

We will Remember this day

Posted on September 11, 2021 by Positively Alyssa

On the morning of September 11, 2001, people were doing what they normally do, such as going to work and school, and were not in fear of a terrorist act that would take the lives of almost 3,000 people and injure 25,000. I think it is safe to say that most people, especially those living in the United States can remember this day twenty years ago. The events that took place were life-altering, chilling, and heart-wrenching, and were unnecessary. For some reason, what took place today two decades ago does not make sense to me but fills my mind with many questions that I know I will never have the answers to.

Considering this day continues sending chills down my spine, I think it is crucial to remember the events and cherish our lives. For each time frame of the events, I am going to share with you, I can remember exactly where I was, what I was doing, and what took place over for days, weeks, months, and years afterward. Do not worry, I will not go too in-depth, but will share just the key points.

In Boston, MA at Logan International Airport, American Airlines flight 11 departed 14 minutes late at 7:59 AM with 81 passengers and 11 crew members with their destination being Los Angeles International Airport. Sadly, at 8:46 AM, this airplane crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. When the news interrupted the radio station I was listening to with this tragic news, I thought there must have been a mistake, or I did not hear what was said correctly because all I could think was how could a plane crash into a building.

Another flight, American Airlines flight 175 departed 14 minutes late at 8:14 AM from the Logan International Airport in Boston, MA with a destination of Los Angeles International Airport. This flight had 56 passengers and 9 crew members on board, which crashed at 9:03 AM into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

As the news had not yet registered into the minds of people around the world, the terrifying news did not end and there was further devastating news to come. A third plane, American Airlines flight 77 that had 56 passengers and 6 crew members departed 10 minutes late from Washington Dulles International Airport and bound for Los Angeles International Airport. This plane crashed into the Western side of the Pentagon at 9:37 AM.

Unfortunately, most people are extremely worried about the lives of their families and trying to call them, but the cell towers were in overdrive and calls were not able to connect. This only created mass chaos because no one knew if there was going to be another plane crashing into another building and where it might happen. Large cities around the country were on alert, which considering at that time I was living in a large city with tall buildings I was panicking.

A fourth plane, United Airlines flight 93 that had 37 passengers and 7 crew members on board departed 42 minutes late from Newark International Airport, now called Newark Liberty Airport bound for San Francisco International Airport. It was later determined that the passengers on this flight had learned what happened at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and were trying to overpower the hijackers on board. Due to a fight in the cockpit, this flight crashed at 10:03 AM Southeast of Pittsburgh in Somerset Pennsylvania. It is not known where this plane’s target was, but it is believed the target was either the White House or the United States Capitol building.

There are many reasons the events of this day do not make sense to me. The United States has one of the strongest militaries in the world. The United States has fighter jets that can reach Mach 6.72 or 4,520 mph, which is more than five times the speed of sound. The reason the fighter jets were not scrambled to defeat these terrorist acts was disturbing because they were taking part in Exercise Vigilant Guardian. Why is it on the day the country is under attack, the fighter jets are doing an exercise and unable to intercept and put an end to this attack?

On the 20^th anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the United States, we need to remember the almost 3,000 people that lost their lives and the 25,000 people that suffered injuries. The people that were on the scene after these devastating events took place put their lives in danger to try to save the lives of others, which I do believe is heroic. We should also remember that people lost loved ones during this time, and some are still battling the effects of this 20 years later.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I know this is a rather sad post, but this is something we should keep in our hearts. I hope your weekend has begun the way you wanted, and you stay safe with anything you do over the weekend. As always, I do look forward to the opportunity to read your comments and I will respond to them as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!