The Christianville Spirit: Mandy, The Momma Dog

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Fills Your Heart & Lifts You Up

October 30, 2013-TCS # 374

So, The Following Newsletter maybe The Most Raw of My Newsletters as I was crying about this, a Couple Minutes before I started and I’ll explain it as I go. You See, as You Know or Are About to Find Out, We had to put our Oldest Dog, Mandy down Last Tuesday. For Reference, We had 3 Dogs being Mandy (The Oldest), Zoe (We like to say, she is a Sophie-Incarnate, 5 Years Old), and finally Our “Foster Dog” Sadie Good-Lord (as of now, she is not a “Foster Dog”; she is ours now. 1 Year and a Half Old) Anyway, Mandy was the Main Dog in our family after we put down Sophie, back in 2008. Mandy’s Story started as a Very Odd One. Now, as You know (or will know), We are fans of Rescue Dogs or in Mandy’s Case, taking care of her until we could find a home for Her. Mandy was given to us to find a home for her from a My Brother’s School Buddy’s Brother. The Brother took her in but, realized that he couldn’t have her because His Apartment was too Small and Mandy was a Big Dog. Mandy was a Black Lab for Reference. Anyway, the Brother came over and gave Mandy to us to find a home. Well, Long Story-Short, Her Home was the Smith-Centeno House, Of Course! She was the Original “Foster Dog”, Now that I think about it. The Best Part about Mandy was Her 2 Trademarks that set her apart from The Rest. One was that, she is a Momma type of Dog (so much that We called her “Momma Mandy”) that takes care of The Other Dog, that being Sophie and Zoe. She would lick Sophie and Zoe’s Ears and all over Their Faces. And, then, we found out of Mandy’s Second Trademark and that was the way that she talk to us. Often, My Brother and I would make an “ooooohh” noise and she would respond with her Trademark Voice that sounded just like My Brother and It was a funny one. I do wish that I would have caught it on Video before we had to put her down but, I’m sure it’ll be ringing in My Ears for Now. In Fact, when Mandy would bark which was her way of talking, I could understand what she wanted because She barked in Syllables; As in “I-am-Hun-Gry.” When Mandy was Young, She was the one to drive Sophie crazy wanting to Play, then The Roles reversed when we got Zoe. After Sophie left in 2008, Mandy fell into a Depression, Eating nothing but, Treats. I helped by loving on her and scratching her on Her Favorite Spot. So, we asked Sophie in Prayer to tell us when she was ready for us to get another dog. When it came time to get another dog, which We got on December 22, My Mom went to the SPCA (again We Love Rescue Dogs) along with Mandy to pick the dog for her as Her Friend and for us. Now, My Mom thought that Mandy would like an Older Dog but, Mandy would growl at them. Then, My Adopted-Aunt Kathy, Went to the Puppy Section and found a Cute Dog. My Mom thought, “Oh No, I don’t want a Puppy!” Well, when they let this puppy in, The Puppy, Now known as Zoe, ran all round the room and Mandy stopped her, put her paw on her on her head, and licked her face; that is how we knew! So, we got to spend Christmas with our new dog, Zoe. Now, My Brother was the one to Name her but, My Brother came up with some really weird names before Zoe. So, Then we come to Last Weekend. All of a sudden Mandy’s Health declined to where she was losing her grip on the Wooden Floor, She slowed down Her Eating to Barely Nothing ,and She slowed in Walking as well and started Laying Down more often. On Monday of Last Week, it turned into Mandy Throwing Up every couple minutes and She didn’t want to Move at all. So, We knew that She was in lot of Pain and we weren’t sure how long she was going to live. My Mom and I had to have that, “We have to Talk about Putting Her Down Discussion” and After that, I figured that I would announce it on Facebook as a Way of Helping Myself deal with Mandy not being around anymore. I made it official that We were keeping Sadie-Good Lord and telling about Mandy as well. Because in My Literal Mind, People weren’t sure if we were keeping Sadie or not because We kept calling her, “The Foster Dog” and I wanted to reassure those people that we were keeping her.  So, on Tuesday, October 22; a few days before My Brother’s Birthday, it was pretty clear that Mandy was in so much pain, it would be Wrong and Inhumane to keep her alive. So, My Mom and Adopted Aunt Kathy went to take Mandy to put her to sleep. As My Mom recalls, “She was so Ready” and She went very peacefully. By Now, I’m sure Mandy is having such a fun time in Heaven while Eating Treats, Chasing Bunnies, and Plenty of Food. And Yes, I’m sure she is really happy to hang out with Sophie and Best of all, Not in Pain! So, I’ll end with this, I have two final thoughts. When My Mom put Mandy down, Mandy did a little smile to My Mom. And, on The Day that Mandy passed, I was getting the food for Sadie and Zoe, I saw a Picture of a Black Lab on the Box of Soft Food that We fed Mandy in her Final Days. It was then, I could hear The Long Island Medium’s Theresa Cuputo’s Voice in My Head saying, “That is Confirmation that Mandy loves You and She thanks you for doing that.”

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. If Your is in Pain, Don’t be Selfish, and Let Them Go. They will Thank You Later when They come to Welcome You in Heaven!

The Christianville Spirit: Catfish in Your Life

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Fills Your Heart & Lifts You Up

October 23, 2013-TCS # 373

So, There is This Show here in The United States that My Mom and I watch called “Catfish: The TV Show” on MTV. And, No I don’t mean, The Actual Fish, Catfish. You See, “Catfish: The TV Show” is based on the documentary that a Filmmaker named Nev (short for “Yaniv”) and his filmmaker friend, Max. This Documentary, Without Spoiling It, is about something that People these days, don’t know about but, can be done. The Term, Catfish means that Someone creates a Fake Profile on a Social Media Site while using someone else’s pictures and then, Tricking Someone into falling in love with Them. The Basis of The Show is to Find out who is “Catfishing” and their motivation. They catch the “Catfish”, They reveal themselves to the person that has fallen in love with them, and Nev and Max interview them and record the process. Now, if all this Interests you, I would recommend seeing the documentary first before you see the show. By The Way, The Documentary is not as Scary as the Previews make it look like. So, How does this relate to Your Life? Well, at the realization of The fact that it has been a Year since The Divorce of “Mom X-1 & 2” (I use that that term as a Nice Way of not Naming Names or Assigning Blame) and I still think, “Why did they do such a Hurtful Act toward Me and My Family?” Well, In an Odd Way, it relates to the “Catfish” Term. Now, I’m Sorry but, There is a SPOILER QUOTE Coming. According to a Guy named “Vince” in The Documentary, He tells the Purpose of “Catfish.” According to Vince, “They used to ship Cod from Alaska to China, They would put them in Huge Vats on The Ship. By the time that The Codfish got to China, the cod’s Flesh was Mushy and Tasteless. So, This Guy came up with The Idea that If You put Catfish in the Vat with The Cod, Then the Cod would arrive in China less Mushy and More Active.” He continues, “There are those people who are Catfish in Our Lives and We thank God for Those Catfish because they keep us on our feet, keeps us guessing, keeps you thinking, and keeps you fresh. Without These Catfish in Our Lives, We would be Droll, Boring, and Dull without Somebody nipping at Our Fin.” As I explained to My Mom, I told her that We need “Catfish” in Our Lives. It is like You swimming in your own school of fish, going the same direction but, Not really going anywhere and all of sudden, Here come the Catfish and They will start annoying us until all of us in the School of Fish go different directions. I told her, after pointing out all the things that She has done in The Past Year including the Non-Profit Organization, The Delaware Dave Walk, and So many others. Most People believe that You just become successful like the snap of a finger. But, The Sad Secret about Becoming Successful, is that it is painful and annoying, that those “Catfish” in Our Lives will actually push you to head in a Direction that Keeps You Fresh, instead of Going Nowhere. Because They will nip at you to keep going and after saying, “Okay, Okay!”, You end up in a place where you never thought you would be a Year Later. Then I asked her, if that whole event never happened, Where would You be at this time a Year later. Now, to say that The events of the “Mom X’s” wasn’t painful would be an understatement but, I now see why it had to happen. All in all, We all have “Catfish’s” to deal with in Our Life but, They will push us to be better than we were before. In a Twisted and Bizarre Way, We Thank Them for being our “Catfish.” 

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. If You have a “Catfish” in your life, You are the one who will move forward and The “Catfish” will always remain a “Catfish.”

The Christianville Spirit: TCS Series; A Letter to Siblings

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Fills Your Heart & Lifts You Up

October 16, 2013-TCS # 372

So, Let’s Start This Week’s with One Last Question for You. Don’t Worry, I promise this is going to be a good one. So, When was the Last Time that You Wrote a Letter to a Sibling or Siblings? Most People would say, “Why on Earth Would You want to Write a Letter to Your Sibling?” Believe it or Not, There are people who do write letters to their siblings, but Only if They are in The Army (Thank You, Guys!); They are in Distress (like if they were in The Hospital), or They are really Mad at Them. Usually, The Siblings are either living with you or are Close to You. After All, Behind Family, Siblings are Very Important. Because They influence you in many ways, that Parents can’t. If However, You have Long-Distance Siblings, there is always Email. But, once in a while You should Write a Letter. So, That is What I’m going to Do, I’m going to write   a Letter to My Sibling; My Brother, Michael as well as Other Siblings of PTLSers. So, Without further a due, This is The Christianville Spirit Series, “Letters to Loved Ones!”

For The 5th and Final Installment of My Series, “Letters to Loved Ones” I’m going to write a Mixer Letter to My Brother as well Siblings of PTLS Children. Since The Original Idea was to Write to My Brother, I’ll start with him first. So, Here it goes. Enjoy! 

“Dear Sibling of Christian (Michael) & PTLSer Siblings,

Hey There, Michael! Yes, I know we live in the same house but, I thought I would give you some credit and a little fame. I know that You are quite the Hard-Working Artist that You Are and I am extremely proud of You for all the Hard Work that You have done to get where you are right now. If you were to ask me, What My Proudest Moment in Your Process to Achieve Your Dream is, I would say that, The Mural that You worked on at UNT was So Awesome and I can’t believe that You took such a Big Part in Designing and Painting it. If I wouldn’t have known that You were in a Team doing it, I would have thought that by the looks of it, It was done by a Famous Artist. I want to Thank You, Michael, considering that You are My Little Brother and I am the Big Brother, for taking that Big Brother role in My Life. I am sure that it was Very Different. Thank You for Introducing Me to some of Your Friends like Spencer and Zach. As Well as Allowing me to be “One of The Guys”. I’m sure that Life can be Hard sometimes but, I Love being Your Brother. Even though I often get the last two letters before the “L” confused Sometimes! Know that Whatever happens in Life that I am Very Proud of You and Remember too that Family (and, God) always comes First! 

So, to Siblings of PTLS Kids, I’m sure it may be hard to be a Sibling of Someone who is Different from You but, You are doing a Really Good Job. If You are a New Sibling to the PTLS Family, The Best Thing to do is to Help Your Sibling the best you can, as well as Show Good Behavior toward them and around them because You will be the ones that They imitate the most, Besides Your Parents. Your Sibling is Unique, that is the best word to use. The Words, Disabled and Disability shouldn’t have to be used unless it has to. Your Brother or Sister is Unique because God made them that way, if Anyone, like Your Friends or Bullies ask. It is up to you to teach them how to do things, Like My Brother did. Yes, They may Get Anxious or Get Upset (We PTLSers do this when Trying New Things) but, the best thing is to help them Get Through it and Try it. If they don’t like it after they try it, then Let that one be. If They do like it, They probably will keep doing the new thing over and over again. An Important Thing to Note, The Looks on Their Faces, Behaviors, and What to do when They are Overwhelmed. First, The Looks on Their Faces, We all have that “Look” that tells people when Something is Wrong. For Me, My Look, Looks like I’m going to be Sick. My Mom calls it, “The I’m going to be Sick/Something’s Bothering Me Face.” For Behavior, If something is bothering them, they will be unusually Quiet or not acting like their usual self. Other than That, If They are doing some kind of Behavior that is not from You or Your Parents, Then Chances are, it is from another kid in School. They are Imitating what they seeing at School, which may not be Good Behavior. They will look to you to their friend, playmate, teacher, one who comforts them, and ones who really understands them well. When Your Sibling has too much Activity going around them, They will Shut Down, Start to Cry, or Have a Behavior Problem. The Best Thing is to do is the give them a Big Hug and Take them out of The Situation. Know that We PTLSers care a lot and appreciate what you do for Us and How You are always there for Us. I Thank You on the Behalf of PTLsers Everywhere.

Your Brother (to Michael) & PTLS Sibling Spokesperson,

Christian Smith-Centeno.”

All in all, As You Can See, Siblings are a HUGE Part of Our Lives.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Cherish Your Siblings, Young and Old.

The Christianville Spirit; TCS Series: A Letter to My Future Self

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Fills Your Heart & Lifts You Up

October 9, 2013-TCS # 371

So, I know I have asked a lot of Questions on all the Newsletters of This Series, “Enough with The Questions!” You Might Say, but I promise that this one is going to be a Gold One. By The Way, “Gold Newsletter” is my term for a Really Good Newsletter. So, Here comes the Question, Have you written a Letter to Yourself? For Most People, They don’t write letters to themselves unless they are going through a Really Bad Breakup and They want to Make Sure not to trust another Guy or Girl again. Then, there are those again, Very Rare now, where They take it upon themselves to write a letter to their Future Self. If you are lucky, Which I wish I was this lucky, they give it as Project in School. “Write a Letter to Yourself, Telling Things like, What You want to be when you grow up, What do you want to Accomplish in Life, and Where do you want to be in Your Life”, The Teacher would say. But, it would be hard to think of it at that age, but maybe when you are 16, then you do it. Although 26 is a late age to be writing a “Future Letter” I’m going to do one. So, without further a due, This is The Christianville Spirit Series, “Letters to Loved Ones”!  So, For the 4th Installment of The “Letters to Loved Ones” Series, I’m going to write a “Future Letter” to Myself. 

“Dear Future Christian,

Hey! This is Christian from 2013! This is a Future Letter to You and For Reference, it was written on October 9th of 2013. By The Time that You read this, You will be in your late 30s’ or 40s’. If you are not above at least 10 Years (You’ll be 36) after You Wrote this, I recommend You stop reading! So, on to The Future! Now, Normally these start out with Job, the Girl, and Where in Life I want to be like Marshall did on How I Met Your Mother (That is how You got this Idea from!) But, There is one major Priority before all of that. This, I want to make sure will always be there, and that is Your Love of Family. Out of all the things I list below, Remember This, No Matter how crazy Life gets and No Matter what happens in Life; Remember that Family always comes First! Of Course, God always comes first but, On Earth, Along with God, Family comes First. Now, at this point, If you live on Your own or with a Significant Other, Don’t forget the Key People, being Your Mom, Your Brother, and Yes, even Your Dad. So, on the Significant other thing, If Who Should be Your Wife by Now is The Women of Your Dreams that You came up with, named Bridgett, Then One, You are Very Lucky and Two, Congratulations on Your Dream coming True because Not Many people have that power. If however, Her Name is not Bridgett, but She is still The Women of Your Dreams, then that is Okay too. I’m Sure Your Wedding was Nice and Beautiful, but Small. and Your Honeymoon was really Romantic. By Now, You should be Traveling the World, in Real Life, seeing all there is to see in this Beautiful World. I’m sure it is so Awesome! So, on to The Job, You should have a Job that You Love! So, that could mean Navteq, Tour Guide or a Travel Agent. A little extra note about Your Family, More along the line of Your Immediate Family, Your Mother at this time, should be Re-Married to The Person that She spends the rest of Her Life with. The Plan is that You live with Bridgett and Your Mother lives down the street. If that didn’t work out, Make Sure that You at least live NEAR Your Mom. I’m sure that Your Mom’s Wedding was Really Beautiful and It was a really Happy Moment for all of You. Next, Your Brother too, should be with His Women of His Dreams and should  be getting ready for Grandchildren for Your Mom, If that has not happened already. So, For Fun, We travel The World and along with visiting with PTLS Family Members, and helping spread Awareness of PTLS. By The Way, PTLS has really grown and is becoming the Size of Autism. Also, Just a Note, Not that it will happen, but If in the event that The Doctors offer a Helper or Cure to Your PTLS, for the love of Goodness, Don’t Take It! And, Encourage Your Other PTLS Family Members not to as Well. And, Finally, Your Newsletter is Very Successful and You are still Writing, against all odds. The Future sounds really great and I can’t wait to be You!

All The Best to You,

Christian Smith-Centeno

October 2013”

That was really great! Parents of My Readers, I truly do recommend having your child (or Yourself) write a Future Letter to Yourself and have them read it 10 or 20 Years later and see where they (or You) are after that many years. All in all, It could be exciting to look forward to The Future.

Thanks For Reading The Christianville Spirit. The Future is as Bright as You see it.

The Christianville Spirit: TCS Series; A Friends Letter

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Fills Your Heart & Lifts You Up

October 2, 2013-TCS # 370

Happy October, Everyone! So, Let me ask you yet another question. Yes, I know I am asking questions with Each Letter in My Series, but I believe that it hits the point home better. So, The Question is have you ever written a Letter to Your Friends? Now, Friends are probably the ones that you would write a letter to least. But, They deserve a handwritten letter whether they live close to you or more of a Long-Distance Friendship. Usually, the only time You write a letter to Your Friends is to say Your Sorry, That You need Help with Something, Thank You, and to Drop a Bombshell on them. Most People would think, “You can Call, Text, Maybe FaceTime or Skype Them, or Facebook Them, Man!” Well, that is true. But, nothing is as Sincere as a Letter to Them. So, That is What I’m going to do. Without Further A Due, This is The Christianville Spirit Series, “Letters to Loved Ones.” So, for the 3rd Installment of the “Letters to Loved Ones”, I’m going to write a Letter to My Friends. Because I have a Good Amount of Them, I will address them individually and as a group, so I don’t miss anyone.

“Dear Friends of Christian,

I would love to say Thank You for Being My Friend, Regardless of Whether I talk to You all the time or Rarely. So, I guess I will start with My Childhood Friends; Izzy, Meredith, Whitney, and Brooke. I really enjoyed My Childhood with You Guys! From Jumping on the Trampoline all day, Playing Nintendo 64 in the evening, or when it was Raining or When it was too hot. I enjoyed the fact that We could run through 4 Yards and Not Run into a Fence. To Meredith, I remember us “Kidnapping” You and taking you to Gulf Shores with Us, it felt like You were part of Our Family, as if You weren’t already. Unfortunately, All, it seems like we have lost contact with each other and it makes me Sad because You Guys were (and, still are, an Important Part of My Life). To Spencer, Although You are actually, My Brother’s Friend, You Have become “My Adopted Friend” and A very good one at That! I want to Thank You for learning about PTLS and Treating me like I am “just one of the guys.” Thank You for Accepting Me! To Karleen, My Best Friend; We have been Friends for 10 Years Now and We met on My Birthday back in 2003. I remember that You would yell so loud (in a Fun Way!) That it would hurt My Ears. I am very sorry for deserting you and dating the girl you hated the most when you needed me the most. Although it was interesting to say the least to Date this girl, I hate that it nearly cost me, losing you. I am glad that we are still friends, against all odds. To My Best Friend, Steven, I know that You are in your own world but, I do miss you from time to time. I’m Sorry about the way you are treated by those who you are around. But, That Happens sometimes. To Popi, I wish I could have known you better and wish I could have been there to see how much you loved My Grandma Honey back in the Old Days. To My PTLS “Brother” Tyler, Thanks for our “Male-Bonding” Nights Together. and, Finally, To PTLS “Gal-Pals” that I chat with a lot online, I’m so glad that I found people that take time to chat with me, share their lives, and let me share mine. You are all True Friends! Thanks for The “Dates”, Skype (known as “Camming”) sessions, and Phone Calls. Y’all Rock!

Your Special Friend and BFF,

Christian Smith-Centeno”

All in all, So, as You can tell Friends are Very Important to Me and when the Friendship Bond is Broken, it hurts me deeply. Without My Friends, My Life wouldn’t be the same. 

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Cherish All Friends and Keep the Old, One is Silver and The Other is Gold!