Just Saying, Thank You!

Just Saying, Thank You! Our products make great gifts for the cancer fighter, survivor, supporter or caregiver. From chemogr

Alright, alright! I got my ticket! I’m Ready to Run!Where my pink sisters at?
09/24/2022

Alright, alright! I got my ticket! I’m Ready to Run!
Where my pink sisters at?

07/13/2022

Not sure who needs to hear this but in 2018 I thought I was broken. Then I realized that i was bent but not broken. They tried it though and failed because apparently they didn’t know who my God is. I’m unbreakable.

I kept going and you should to. You got this. 😉

06/05/2022

Someone may need a reminder that there is life after and life after . To those who have we can’t control the future so let’s celebrate life.

Part 2: Being a single mom has not been without its challenges. One day I cried doing the kids’ laundry. I was like I di...
04/16/2022

Part 2: Being a single mom has not been without its challenges. One day I cried doing the kids’ laundry. I was like I didn’t sign up to do this by myself. 😭🤬 Now I’m like what were you worried about. You got this! 💁🏾‍♀️The healing wasn’t just on me but the boys went through a difficult transition as well. Another reason I needed to heal was for them. They both have handled the divorce differently. J with anger towards his father for all he did and Caleb with sadness because he wasn’t seeing his dad as much as he would have liked. I had to explain to them that you can’t force a person to be something they are not. When people show you who they are, believe them. Doesn’t mean you have to stop loving that parent but you have to adjust your expectations. It’s a humbling experience when your kids are crying and you feel the need to apologize for the bad choices you made in the past that now affects them. Yes, all 3 of us has had therapy and we are so much better for it. My relationship with the boys is amazing. Our bond has grown stronger because we know we have each other. Life has tried to break me and there were times that I was bent so far back that I started to crack. But I serve a God that’s a healer and a provider. I don’t know what the future holds but I do know that I’m walking into it with purpose. 🙌🏾

Part 1: I spent 2019 - present working on me. At the end of 2018, my mom asked what do you like to do? I had no clue. I ...
04/16/2022

Part 1: I spent 2019 - present working on me. At the end of 2018, my mom asked what do you like to do? I had no clue. I was so busy working, taking care of kids, the home and running his business at one point that I lost touch with who I was. Over the last 3 years I worked hard to heal and find my purpose. God had to have saved me not once but twice for a reason, right? At the end of 2018, I also had an anxiety attack that sent me to the hospital. God sent the right person at that moment to come. She talked to me and prayed with me. She said the devil has tried to take everything from you and now he’s trying to take your mind. He’s a lie. It’s not going to happen. After that day, she helped me find my inner craftsman. 😂. She would call out the blue, “I’m coming by. We’re going to Hobby Lobby.” Even when I didn’t want to leave my house, she would say “We’re going” 😂. She knew I needed to get out and find something new and positive to focus on. This is how I found out that I had a gift for making wreaths. I started Just Saying Thank You first selling Breast Cancer novelty items, making wreaths and making custom tshirts. Then I was able to combine two things I love and started Renee's Premier Travel.


2017: The beginning of change. I recently looked at a picture from that 40th birthday dinner and I realized that I’ve cu...
04/16/2022

2017: The beginning of change. I recently looked at a picture from that 40th birthday dinner and I realized that I’ve cut over half of the people at that table out of my life. My marriage was still rocky. I wanted a divorce but I didn’t. Again, I’m worried about what people will think or say. More importantly, I didn’t want to feel like I failed.

2018: The year of cutting. The year of change. The year of pain. My therapist said something very profound one day. Of course she knows everything and she asks, do the people in your life realize that you’ve spent the last several years fighting cancer? Trying to stay alive and how traumatic this has been for you? I said they know. Apparently they don’t give a damn. She asked, where is their compassion and empathy? A better question is why don’t you feel like you deserve it? It was this conversation that opened my eyes and made me pay closer attention of how people treated me and how it made me feel.
So this is the year I filed for divorce. The year my SIL hooked my husband up with her BFF. It was also the year people roll up to my house like the caravan over some petty social media BS (which was false) but didn’t roll up when I let them know I was diagnosed with severe depression. 👀 The year I FINALLY learned how to leave. 🏃‍♀️💨. It was not without pain but God saw me through it.

Lesson: you can’t fight for a marriage when you’re in the ring by yourself.
When it’s time for God to elevate you to another level, everybody can’t go.
Some relationships are for a reason, a season or a lifetime. No when to make your exit.
Surround yourself with people who love you and will pray for you during your most challenging times. Not talk about you.
When it’s time for change, you must be willing to let go of those things that are not a part of God’s plan for you. No matter how painful it may be. The day that long time friendship ended, I still remember how bright it was outside. I had finally made it to the other side of the storm. This was the beginning of finding myself and healing.

2016Lord it’s been a lot but I finally feel like I can breathe in 2016. My life got back to some normalcy.My Oncologist ...
04/15/2022

2016
Lord it’s been a lot but I finally feel like I can breathe in 2016. My life got back to some normalcy.

My Oncologist recommended that I have my ovaries removed because of the type of cancer I had fed off of estrogen. My gynecologist recommended I have a full hysterectomy since my tubes were already tied to limit the chance of ovarian and cervical cancer. I didn’t think this would be a big deal but it was mentally. I felt like everything that physically made me a woman was gone.

Towards the end of the year, I remember looking at myself in the mirror and asked, Who are you? I had changed so much that I didn’t like who I had become. I once again thought about divorce but I didn’t want to become another statistic. Another single black momma. I had no proof of anything going on but my intuition told me it was. So I told myself that I’m about to make a conscious effort to fix me and work on my marriage.

2015: I had already planned a Disney trip for 2015 and I didn’t want to disappoint the kids. So the doctors stopped my c...
04/14/2022

2015: I had already planned a Disney trip for 2015 and I didn’t want to disappoint the kids. So the doctors stopped my chemo treatments 2 weeks before we left so that I wouldn’t be as sick or tired on the trip. I had already stopped working due to chemo brain. My hair was gone, I was swollen, and my finger nails and toe nails were lifting from the skin. 🙄 I was like this is some BS. It made it difficult to do a lot of things like cook. The heat would hurt my fingers but the family needed to eat. 🤷🏾‍♀️

During this journey I had so much pride that I didn’t want to ask for help. I felt like that was accepting defeat and we can’t be showing weakness. 🙄 Well I eventually let my guard down and let those who offered help. One thing cancer showed me is who truly got my back because they showed up. It was my mom who took me to most of my dr appointments and chemo treatments and surgeries for which there were 9. My dad, my grandparents helped with cooking, washing and the kids. I had some folks ask. Where were your friends while you were going through Cancer? Why didnt I see them helping with the kids or at the house? I said great questions but I never wanted to seem like I didn’t have things under control. To be honest one thing did bother me. Someone I knew the longest and lived the closest to me was not at one surgery, not one chemo not one dr appointment, didn’t come hang at the house but I saw her show up for others. After the fact, I thought maybe I should’ve asked? 🤔 In the last few years I’ve learned and have seen that real friends will show up without you asking or even when you say that’s ok because they see you struggling.

That Summer, I was dealing with swelling and some trouble breathing when walking. I later found out I had a blood clot in my heart and had it removed.

Lessons: Never be afraid to ask for help. Needing help is not a sign of weakness.
If someone makes you feel some kind of way, tell them if you value the relationship. We have to learn how to communicate.
Keep your eyes open and watch who show up and who is just talking.

Over the next few days, I want to share this journey that I have been on for the last 10 years. 2012 was the beginning o...
04/12/2022

Over the next few days, I want to share this journey that I have been on for the last 10 years. 2012 was the beginning of many years of hurt, pain, and disappointment.
December 2011 my parents moved back to Houston from Michigan.
February 2012 I found a lump in my left breast.
March 23, 2012: the day my life changed drastically. I got the call that I had breast cancer. Once I found an Oncologist, they wanted to start chemo immediately. Dr Choksi tackled the cancer aggressively. My hair fell out pretty quickly and that was a very traumatic experience for me. Me, my mom and my sis were all crying 😭 in the bathroom as she shaved my head. I was so embarrassed I didn’t even want my husband to see my head.

This pic is from July 2012. The steroids had me on swole. If only you knew the pain behind that smile. 😔

04/08/2022

Wow! I just had a conversation with someone about this yesterday. Ive been reflecting over my experiences and lessons learned over the last 10 years. This one…. I knew I was supposed to end several relationships long before I did. I didn’t know my worth. I do now.

It's Ultrasound Day! So much fun searching for the lymph nodes under my armpits🙄. Even with implants you need to get an ...
12/10/2020

It's Ultrasound Day! So much fun searching for the lymph nodes under my armpits🙄. Even with implants you need to get an ultasound to be sure the lymph nodes aren't fluffy. It could be a first sign that something isn't right. Ladies don't forget to schedule your annual mammograms. Early detection saves lives. At least they had this pretty tree in the waiting area.

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