Leena,
Sorry to hear of your recent surgery and the death of your father.

My dad was Finnish also, I am half Finn, and if your dad was as stoic as mine was he is probably saying in a slow and deliberate way..."Now Leena, you take care of yourself and know I am fine." He came to my mom in a dream, met her in the middle of a meadow, to tell her he was ok after he passed away in 1994. He had Parkinson's and it was such a pleasure for her to see him walking through the meadow unhindered.

Wow, I don't know where all that came from, but my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Sincerely,
Lisa

Hi,
Yes, Lisa, that is exactly what he is saying. He had his troubles with depression, which does run in my family, but he also had the strain of optimism, which kept him alive and happy as long as it did. Ten years ago, he was in very bad shape, we thought he was dying then, but with my mother's help he recovered, and then, while he was still unable to get out of the bed on his own, he got in the mail an advertisement from a foresters' organization (he was a forester) for a trip to Italy in six weeks, and he told my mother to send in the deposit for both of them. And six weeks later they flew to Italy.

I have been thinking of the happiest people I have known, and the fact is, all of their lives were full of both good and bad things, some quite horrible, things that they could never forget. But somehow, some people manage to be positive, while others always look on the negative side. Very trite, I know, and not even very helpful: if you happen to have a negative outlook, i suppose it is hard to turn it around. But I am trying to cultivate positive thoughts, although it is hard when I can only lie on my back, and both my back and my front hurt. But I did get the stiches out, and that was an improvement. And my daughter cooked us a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.
She managed to roast the turkey upside down, but actually the breast was a lot juicier that way, I recommend it!!!
Leena

Leena,
I've taken some time to check up on the board, and am feeling overwhelmed with all you are enduring right now. We'll all keep positive thoughts flowing to bolster yours - - Goodness knows I am in a constant battle with those negative ideas that want to invade my brain on a daily basis. The good days that pass, however, do much to improve my outlook. I even got home BEFORE Tom did this evening!!! It has been awhile since I walked into an empty house - it allowed me to greet him like I did every night before all this happened.......this was a good thing!
Tom and I wish you a speedy recovery, and will hope you will see your father in happy dreams. Take care
Nicki
OH! we've cooked our turkeys 'upside down,' which is really 'right side up,' for 33 years...and we always cook them on our Weber grill....awesome turkey and yes, the breast meat is always, always juicy!

Hi Leena
I've been away from the forum for a month and this thread had escaped my notice. Firstly and most importantly it seems that you are OK.. I'm sorry about your Dads passing but I'm sure that he would have been so estatic to know his little girl was fine.. My friend says that you have to stand in the rain to appreciate the sunshine..
walk back in the sunshine when you can..
love and hugs
Helen