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Mindful

Tomorrow Is Not Promised To Anyone

The other day, a gal said to me, “Your family does so much; you travel a lot, your kids do marathons, triathlons, you give time to the the Huntington’s disease cause, the homeless, you write books.” She looked at me quizzically, “Why do you do so much?”

I looked at her curiously, thinking it was a funny question because this is how we have always lived our lives. We taught our children to work hard and play hard and I remember saying to them over the years, “Life is short, enjoy it, experience it; tomorrow is not promised to anyone; we never know what the future will bring, take a chance, have no regrets, learn from your mistakes”.

When Huntington’s disease (HD) entered our lives, it taught me many things and one was to appreciate the life I had with John and the kids every single day. We didn’t know, until 2016, whether John inherited the mutated huntingtin gene, so we embraced life with the kids and had as much fun as possible together.

We Can Never Lose HOPE………

Read the first Chapter of Watching Their Dance by clicking on link: WatchingTheirDanceFirstchapter1

Author Therese Crutcher-Marin Book Signing in Auburn CA

Take a look at my Amazon Author Page http://amazon.com/author/theresecrutchermarin

My author website where you can also purchase my book is https://www.theresecrutchermarin.com

September 19, 2019 by crutcht

Mindful

More On “It’s The Little Things In Life”

Author Therese Crutcher-Marin

I believe that recognizing and embracing the little things in life every day is important to our happiness. I explain it in my nonfiction book.

Watching Their Dance: Excerpt from page 61, Chapter 7

John and I had just gotten married and back from the honeymoon and settling into our apartment in Roseville California.

“Anyone looking at us would have seen a happy, well-matched couple starting what seemed a wonderful life together. Little would they know the challenge that lay quietly beneath our joy. Every day, I consciously reminded myself to live in the present moment. It was the small stuff I savored: waking up next to John, seeing him every night, eating dinner together, talking about our day, feeling his arms around me. Those moments were precious, and I selfishly saved them just for me.”

We Can Never Lose HOPE…………….

Therese’s Author Website: https://www.theresecrutchermarin.com

September 12, 2019 by crutcht

Family, Forgiveness, Hope, Kindness, Mindful, Thankful

A New Year Has Begun

Happy New Year To My Fellowman Around The World!

On this day, the beginning of the new year, I want to take a moment to be thankful, and to remind myself to continue having forgiveness & hope in my heart, and to keep kindness and mindfulness in my everyday activities.

2019 is here and what a great year 2018 was for my family as my father is healthy at 89 years old and my sisters and children are also healthy and happy. It has been a joyous year for the Huntington’s disease community; with the positive outcome of Ionis HTTRx drug and Genentech/Roche moving quickly to setup clinical trials around the world for the now HG6042 drug. Ionis HTTRx program and its future

My sister, Jen, and our dad

John & our children & their spouses

To learn about Genentech/Roche plan, click below on video.

We Can Never Lose HOPE…….

Therese is the author of Watching Their Dance, an inspirational love story while living in the shadow of Huntington’s disease. It can be purchased on her Author Website or Amazon

100% of the profit from the book is being donated to the nonprofit Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA). December 2017, she donated $9,015.00 to HDSA which was the profit from 2017 book sales.

January 1, 2019 by crutcht

Mindful, Taking Care of Yourself

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

Left to right: John, Cindy & father, John

In 1999, John’s second sister, Marcia, was stolen from us by Huntington’s disease (HD). She was 49 years old, had struggled with HD for 15 years and we had been by her side through those years.

On New Year’s Day, 2000, Cindy’s best friend called and asked John to take Cindy back to California to live with someone because HD was progressively rapidly. The next day, John jumped on a plane to Canada, packed Cindy’s stuff and Kayla, her dog, and flew back to California where she would live with her father.

The next week, John bought home a book to share. The book was, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…..and it’s all small stuff by Richard Carlson, PH.D. John and I started reading a chapter a couple of times a week before we went to sleep. (Short chapters) Each chapter rebooted my brain to focus on the present, not the past or the future. #LiveMindfully

Author Richard Carlson comments about the book. Click here to watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2MWSS_7KKI

We Can Never Lose HOPE…….

Watching Their Dance: Three Sisters, a Genetic Disease and Marrying into a Family At Risk for Huntington’s is available on Therese’s author website https://www.theresecrutchermarin.com and many book websites like Amazon

November 29, 2018 by crutcht

Mindful, The Marin Siblings

Excerpt from Chapter 18-Watching Their Dance

Chapter 18-A Pre-Symptomatic Test for Huntington’s Disease, Page 153-Watching Their Dance: Three Sisters, a Genetic Disease and Marrying into a Family At Risk for Huntington’s

“I never forgot that John was now in the high-risk age range and would be for another eight to thirteen years. Over the past few years, I had realized that this uncertainty, which I had take on willingly, had opened my heart to love much more deeply, and acknowledging that my world could change in a heartbeat made my life with John so much richer. Life was just too precious to waste a minute arguing over any small stuff.

Lora, John and Keith in our backyard in 1985. Lora was living with us.

I had learned to overlook shortcomings and compromise without anger. And the Marin siblings had taught me about forgiveness and unconditional love, traits not common in my family. I forgave Dave time and time again and never for a moment stopped loving Lora, even when she hurt my feelings.

Letting go of the anger I felt when I couldn’t control a situation calmed my OCD to a manageable level, and lessing my anxiety allowed me to relax and find joy in the simple things. Perceiving the future as a blank canvas helped, as did not dwelling on it. Keith remained the best method of staying in the present, and I drew strength from being physically near John, ever the optimist. Staying focused was key to this constant battle.”

Therese’s memoir/nonfiction book, Watching Their Dance: Three Sisters, a Genetic Disease and Marrying into a Family At Risk for Huntington’s, is available on her author website https://www.theresecrutchermarin.com & on Amazon, B&N, & in Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks format.

100% of the proceeds from Therese’s book sold in the U.S. will be donated to HDSA. http://www.hdsa.org Therese and John donated $9,015.00 to HDSA that is the profit from book sales since Therese published in April 2017.

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February 19, 2018 by crutcht

Mindful

It’s the Little Things in Life

“That smell of coffee brewing in the morning, crawling into bed with freshly clean sheets, a warm hug from a loved one, that first, perfect bite of pasta…they always say it’s the little things in life that make a big difference and that has always proven true. You just have to see it and have the right vision. Open your eyes and witness all of the things around you that you have, be grateful and be thankful.

Appreciating what you have will make everything in your life seem that much bigger. People often say that when you wake up in the morning, say five things your grateful for to yourself. By doing this, it will make all of the bad things, obstacles, or difficulties in your life not seem as bad. Looking at the greatness in your life, no matter how small, can truly make you feel more upbeat, fulfilled, and happy.”

I found this article on https://www.women.com/paigecatton/lists/number-grateful-quotes-that-prove-its-the-little-things-in-life and it speaks to what I truly believe………being mindful and appreciating what you have in front of you at that moment. I have so much to be thankful for; John, my kids, being able to take this trip to promote my book, my health, good friends and two kind sisters. Don’t look forward or backward; look at what’s in front of you!

We can never lose HOPE……………….Therese

To purchase Therese’s inspiration story of HOPE and LOVE, Watching Their Dance: Three Sisters, a Genetic Disease and Marrying into a Family At Risk for Huntington’s go to Therese’s Author Website

(free shipping in the U.S. and includes 12 “HDSA Help Fight HD!” wristbands)

Also, available on many book websites like Amazon.com

July 12, 2017 by crutcht

Mindful

Being Mindful in my Daily Life

“Watching Their Dance: Three Sisters, a Genetic Disease and Marrying into a Family At Risk for Huntington’s is a truly inspirational story of hope as Therese shares the path she has chosen may be difficult but it opened her heart to love more deeply and made her life that much richer.” Shared by her publicist, Pat Rose.

Over the years, I’ve often said Huntington’s disease taught me many lessons. The first and most poignant lesson that helped me live a meaningful, happy life AT RISK with John, was mindfulness………..a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.

Mindfulness is now being examined scientifically and has been found to be a key element in happiness. In order to maintain my sanity, staying in the present was key to enriching my life with John. Being mindful took practice and focus and some days I did I did it better than others.

https://www.helpguide.org/harvard/benefits-of-mindfulness.htm

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Enjoy your day! Therese

Photo credit: AlicePopkorn via Foter.com / CC BY

April 3, 2017 by crutcht