Dear Brittany Maynard

Dear Brittany,

I am writing this to thank you. You dear sweet girl are facing the most terrifying thing I can imagine. I have no clue how you must feel. But I hope part of how you feel is proud of yourself. I have always lived here in Oregon so I have given little thought to the death with dignity law. It has always been something that was just a given to me. Selfishly, I never thought about people in other states that don't have this law and you, Brittany, have made me think about it. I hope that you know that I think you are truly one of the most brave people I've ever heard about. You are a soldier fighting a battle you know you can't win but you continue fighting so the battle can end on your terms. That is amazing. I want to thank you, not just for raising awareness for this cause but also for making the world a better place and me a better person. No, we have never met but still you are impacting my life. Reading your story I saw your age and thought, "Wow, she's even younger then I am." I read what all you have done and thought, "I need more adventure." I read how you have only been married a short time, and it made me more thankful for every moment I get with my husband. I see how you want to spend your last days and I just want to hug my family. I think that your affect on people is far more then you could ever grasp. I think that spending even a second doing anything but whatever you want is so selfless because you have so few moments left. Look at you and the time you are spending to raise awareness. It makes anyone who says they don't have time to do good deeds seem ridiculous. Please know that you have so many people praying for you and your family and friends. I pray that you have a smooth passage. When you get to Heaven maybe God will show you how much good you have done. I promise to pay more attention to issues that may not affect me or my family. I promise to cherish my moments more and I promise to remember you! You are truly a hero. You're in my thoughts and prayers! I hope to be even half the blessing you have been to this world. I wish you a calm, safe, comforting passage!

-Tuffy

For anyone who hasn't heard of Brittany Maynard her website is www.thebrittanyfund.org You can learn about her journey, donate, and sign her birthday card!

P.S. Brittany Happy Birthday!

Why Iron Man is my favorite superhero.

The simple answer would be that I am a geek. More specifically a Marvel geek. However most of my life Wolverine was my favorite because I wished I had his healing powers. I thought about how much more I could do if I was less sickly. Now as an adult, however, I relate way more to Iron Man. I'm not a rich playboy but I love that he has panic attacks even though he's a superhero whi shouldn't logically be afraid. That makes me feel better about when I'm freaking out about something others view as a non issue. Also he has horrible O.C.D. He can't be handed things unless its Pepper or Happy handing them to him. That's such a strange thing to be O.C.D about however so are most of my O.C.D triggers. I cannot handle a set of blinds being slightly skewed or one of them messed up. It drives me nuts and I must stop what I'm doing and fix the blinds. I feel like my problems can be so debilitating. Then I watch Iron Man and see all the amazing things Tony Stark accomplishes to spite his issues and it makes me happier to be me! Rant over carry on!

Allergies, can't leave home without them

Anytime I talk to people about my allergies they always say how much it must suck to not be able to eat chocolate or nuts or to not be able to pick all the beautiful flowers we have on the farm. Yes, all those things do suck but honestly I don't really mind too much that I can't eat chocolate or nuts or whole grain. I don't even mind so much having to avoid the beautiful flowers. What I really hate about my allergies is that I can't snuggle my cats or any long haired dogs without hives. I hate that I can never leave the house without my inhaler, benadryl, or my epi pen. I can't just try new things anymore. I have to be fully prepared at all times to fix any allergic reaction that might occur. I was lucky as a kid I was only allergic to dairy and chocolate. That didn't really have a huge affect on my life. My brothers got a chocolate candy bar I'd get nerds. That was about the extent of it. I could still run around outside and play. I could still ride bikes and make mud-pies and play with snakes. I never thought about my allergies. I miss that but I'm also thankful that I had that. Some kids are born with really bad allergies. Some kids never get to do that stuff. I'm 31 now and I don't need to be playing in the grass. What I do need is to be able to keep my pets around me without taking medications. I need to be able to just run out of the house with my wallet and keys and not a huge diaper bag like purse. I need to not be known as the girl that gets sick so easily or the girl with the bad  lungs or the girl who is allergic to life. I need to be able to be me and have fun. So allergies if you could kindly vacate the premises I would appreciate it!