My DH is a cadaver kidney recipient. He lost his due to 22 years of diabetes. I can walk you thru what we went through, during the decision process. His siblings were climbing all over each other to donate theirs, but since diabetes is prevalent in his family, he decided to decline (both his brother and sister who offered have kids of their own and he thought if the parents end up with diabetes, their only remaining kidney would be at risk and he didn't want their kids to risk losing parents). At that time we didn't have kids yet. I didn't get tested for some of the same reasons. First, I also have a lot of diabetes risk due to family history, and second, we knew we'd eventually want to have kids, and though you can have kids with one kidney, the risk of carrying a child is greatly increased. Finally, Emory University was initiating kidney-pancreas transplants. The thought was, if you still have diabetes after you receive the transplant, the life expectancy of the donated organ is lower than if you were not diabetic. So why not try to see if the pancreas would work? We figured we didn't have anything to lose by trying (normally cadaver pancreas is not utilized). DH was the third KP transplant Emory did. They now do over 200 a year. He lost the initial pancreas, but 2 years later, he got a secondary pancreas only transplant, and it succeeded. So in his case, he's been normal-blood-sugar since 1998. In theory, his new kidney should last as long as a non-diabetic person's kidneys would. The dialysys and wait for the initial transplant was nearly two years, but only a little over a year of that were we actually on the waiting list (it takes some time to treat initial renal failure, then some time to get approved for a transplant). We are very grateful to both of his cadaver donors. We also knew the person who received the liver from the same donor we got the second pancreas from, and I saw that liver work a true miracle in that family's lives. SIDE NOTE TO OUR DONORS: THANKS TO BOTH OF YOU WHOEVER YOU WERE! And thanks to your loved ones and families who made such a phenomenally difficult decision. Know that we now have a 7 year old daughter we would not have without that kidney, and also that DH takes great care of himself, and is doing wonderfully. So far, his sister has developed thyroid disease, and his brother developed Type 2 diabetes, so we do not regret turning their generous offer away.

Tre3, I completely agree when you say Sometimes being busy is similar to having lots of STUFF. I also do not believe in having things saved ''for good''. I want to use everything I have and it makes me happy when I do. What I've noticed is that I am usually the one who entertains my friends, who have often said they like to come here because it is more interesting than being at their house. I think they probably feel that way because I use my ''best'' things. It's part of my philosophy about Living Well. I do wish sometimes though that some of them had a similar attitude so I could be a guest for a change! Talley Sue, I have been known to just go find another bookcase! Since I recently purged some of my books, it did feel good to have the extra space. Perhaps I shouldn't confess my time at the bookstore yesterday, but there's a part of me that enjoys my ''library'' and having books around me. I just realized that with the exception of my kitchen, I have bookcases in every room of my home! I am finally limited to how many books I can keep now, so that's a good thing. Tina, I could probably use a fashion guru to tell me what clothes to throw out, but I really need one on the accumulation side. My favorite clothes don't make much of a fashion statement I'm afraid. Minet, those are all good questions, which I'm familiar with, since I've asked myself those same things quite often. I did like Organizing from the Inside Out and found it helpful when I needed to revamp my home office files. You're right about it being good for paper clutter, which I had too much of. teacats, I think it's funny that your DH doesn't think anyone lives like that in real life. I think he must have lived a sheltered (yet happy) existence! One of the exercises in The Not So Big Life, is to think about what inspires you. I asked my DH to give this question some thought this morning. Sarah Susanka suggests going back to your childhood and remembering those significant moments for a clue to discovering yourself. It's true that finding inspiration is what will move us to act on changing our lives. Her thoughts aren't new to me, yet a good reminder of how to open yourself to possibilities. There are several things I'm ready to see change, and I'm loving this book!

I'm not familiar with that book, Jamie, but one that I often recommend is No Goodbyes: My Search Into Life Beyond Death, by Adela Rogers Sr. Johns. It's an old book, but used copies are available on Amazon and elsewhere. St. Johns was a famous journalist who covered the big stories of her day, including the Lindbergh kidnapping. After she lost her son in WWII, he began communicating with his sister through automatic writing. St. Johns applied her journalist's skills to investigate the survival of the spirit after death. I read it before my daughter Jill died, and thought it was excellent. Of course I read it again afterward.

It is a true story. The original title is Au nom de tous les miens. The sites that claim it is fiction are usually "historical revisionists" ie Holocaust deniers. Here is a link that might be useful: Martin Gray's official website