In Praise Of "THE BUBBIE"...

During my most recent medical incident/drama, I received several lovely cards, phone calls, emails, visits, etc. I am always moved by the generosity and kindness others bestow upon me as, most of the time, I do not feel worthy of such acts of giving...especially when I am purposefully trying to AVOID others, not shower for days, and hide out sulking in my own misery!

There was one such package that arrived at my post office mailbox which caused me great pause...it was from THE BUBBIE. If you are not familiar with *THE BUBBIE* (as I like to fondly call her...I think the use of the "The" before her moniker signifies profound importance!), I suggest you click over to her blog, "Bubbie's Blog", to find out more...she writes a down to earth blog about her experiences with MS and the world. Although not a prolific poster, what she DOES post up can instill tears of laughter or understanding.

Anywhozit...the package. I opened this package from FlO-REE-DA and discovered an assortment of THE BUBBIE'S most recent paintings placed on cards:

And I have been privately fingering these cards in awe ever since. I don't want to share them with anyone, even though that's what THE BUBBIE says they are meant for: Snail Mail. I like to take them out and look at them, pretty much whenever I pass them on my coffee table, and just feel the comfort.

There is a story behind these beautiful cards and one I will not go into great detail about here...because it is THE BUBBIE'S story and not mine to tell. But what I WILL say is this...I am in absolute stillness and awe when I sit and stare at these cards because they represent to me a journey, filled with discovery, pain, and joy.

You see, THE BUBBIE is an artist...and a remarkably talented one at that. A talent bestowed upon only a few rare people in this world and a gift many of us will never possess (especially me!). AND...THE BUBBIE has Multiple Sclerosis (and quite possibly an assortment of other medical issues). What I must go on to acknowledge is, THE BUBBIE struggles and wrangles this crappy disease called MS on a daily basis...and MS tried to suffocate her rare talent by effing up her eyesight as well as her hands. For a long while, it caused her to stop painting.

Then, one day THE BUBBIE spit in the face of MS and picked up her brushes again...this was around the time I first met her and why I have such a connection to her recent work. She started working in water colors, a new medium, and...she began to paint again...creating magnificent works in colors that speak to the very heart of anyone wrestling with MS. She began creating paintings with colors she couldn't necessarily discern any longer...only using intuition to guide her...to produce the poorly captured examples in the photo up there (they are MUCH better in person!).

I fell in love with this one, called Mystic Birch:

And promptly ordered a large copy from her Zazzle Page for future framing.

Please understand something here...I am NOT promoting THE BUBBIE for any kind of sales purposes. In fact, she doesn't even know I am writing this post. The point I am trying to make here is still about Multiple Sclerosis...and the fact even THIS wretched disease cannot dampen the human spirit. Certainly MS can and will change all of our lives (and those who care about us as well), but we cannot allow it to master our destiny...we cannot allow MS to destroy our talents and the things that bring us joy.

In THE BUBBIE'S paintings, I clearly SEE the *Face Of MS* (more than I do in the MS Society's webpage...ehem)...because I know the story of fear and determination and uncertainty that is behind every stroke of her brush. And I can relate to that story (not the talent)...which gives me great comfort as I march forward in the muck and mire of my own MS.

Now excuse me while I return to my almost-voyeuristic-gazing of my BUBBIES...somehow calling my collection "My Bubbies" DOES sound a bit perverse...which is what one would expect here on CHEESE...LOL...