Melinda, A Person Of Grace, Faith And Delight Elita Sohmer Clayman

“There is always something beautiful to be experiencing wherever you are. Right now, look around you and select beauty as your focus.” This is a saying I got off a Facebook page of a dear and delightful woman I know only through the internet. It is interesting that her Mom and I were friends over sixty-five years ago when we were young kids. We have not seen each other for that amount of years and we connected somehow on the internet. I believe her mom Phyllis was checking things out on the computer and somehow found my name because I use my maiden name too in all my writings and she recognized a family photo I had on there. The photo showed me, dad and my brother. Somehow we got in contact again and we email often.  On her Facebook page, I saw mention of this darling daughter of hers and she was going through some medical crisis.

I fell in love with this daughter of hers and her outlook on life as being good, even as she was ill at the time.We started to correspond some, via the email and she told me it was OK to write about her.

This young woman is a priceless advocate of faith, hope and happiness. She went through a lot especially in the month of May of this year and posted photos of herself while she was undergoing procedures to get better. I have never seen such strength and courage as this young woman possesses and to say she is to be commended is certainly short on adjectives.

She has every day on her Facebook sayings like above mentioned one and she is like a Poster Person for grace under pressure “Grace under pressure “was said by Ernest Hemingway.

Many years ago, a book was written by a Rabbi, and it was called When Bad Things Happen To Good People. That certainly describe what we all feel when we hear something terrible has occurred to a person we know who is a fine person. We wonder how that was allowed to happen.

Religious people often believe it is God’s will or God wanted the person to come back to Him. Others believe, it is unfair. Others do not state their beliefs for fear it could happen to them. Others have no opinion on it because it did not happen to them or someone they know. It is a difficult thing to think about. I asked her today, even though she told me several months ago, if I could write about her, her illness and her bravery. There is down below her words today.

“Absolutely, you can name my first and last name... It’s all ok... I am very open with all that’s occurred with me... Not sure if you know that this was my 2nd bout with breast cancer... The first diagnosis was 10 years ago... 2001 to be exact... I guess it was 11 yrs. ago... I am doing well now... Back to work full time which does seem to take a lot of my time... I come home and I am tired... But all is good... Love you my friend... Hugs from Tampa Fla!!”

If I looked up in the The Thesaurus twenty words to describe Melinda Press of Tampa, Florida, I could use all twenty of them plus another fifty. This young woman is so full of the joy for life, of having survived twice this illness that she overwhelms me, a senior of seventy-eight who has never met someone like her and yet, we have never met in person.

She is graceful, dignified, and full of sunshine, hope, kindness and always has a gorgeous smile on her face. When she lost her hair, she still posted photos of herself and it showed a glowing and gorgeous face. She is now back at work and happy to be doing so. She embodies and stands for the epitome of someone who can transform a stranger into a friend. That is what she and I are now through the internet, email, Facebook and our hearts.

Her courage knows no limits. Her heart is a big one, happy to be here and she lets everyone know they should feel the same way, even when bad things happen to them. She is what is called a ‘mensch’ which means a decent, kind person. She is a Poster Person for not only hope, compassion and faith. She is one for decency, spirit and most of all superb attitudes.

She shared on her Facebook page a picture of a four leaf clover. It said if you share this, you will get good luck. Melinda Press of Tampa, Florida, I share for you one hundred four leaf clovers and may you have them for all the days of your wonderful, sweet, kind and perfect attitude towards life. I wish you most of all good health from now on and for you to continue the peace, you convey to others in all your postings.

The above quotation at the beginning of this article states that there is something beautiful to be experienced wherever you are, look and focus as you select it right now.

I select and focus on you, one of the most perfect, delightful and beautiful persons I know, that is an example of what life is all about and how you overcame sad times to be present now in happier days of your life. You persevered and you conquered and you are a WINNER AT THE TOP OF THE LIST.