Today is the first day of a brand new year. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and from my family to yours we wish you all the best for the coming year.
The past year I have spent so much time worrying about what was wrong with me, when they would find a diagnosis,
having tests, seeing dr's, waiting for test results, seeing specialists
and before I knew it a year had past. I had my diagnosis' and guess what
I am still seeing dr's, still having tests and still waiting for
results! While these things are inevitable they do not have to be the
focus of my days. This year is going to be different.
One of my favourite quotes which you will probably remember from my last
blog is that worry is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to
do but it doesn't get you very far. So on that note: I don't want to think in terms of New Years Resolutions but with a brand new year comes brand new opportunities. We cannot do anything about what has happened in the past. We can look forward but again my crystal ball seems to not be functioning so I have decided this year I am going to focus on the present. I want to be present in my life, in my children's lives, in my husbands life and the rest of our family's lives. I don't want to think about the past and I don't want to worry about the future. I really just want to focus on each and every day as they come. We don't need to wait for a brand new year for a new start, we get a fresh start each and every day!
Outside of my family, I want to focus on greeting my health challenges with trying to find the positive in each and every day and not dwelling on the pain and how crappy I feel. I have accepted the reality that I will most likely continue to live my life in chronic pain each and every day. If I wait to live my life for a day where I feel well...a whole year will go by just like 2011 did and before you know it so will decades.
I also want to spend more time on my blog and turn this into a resource that I can use to help others. If I provide nothing more than people knowing they are not alone then spending my time on this blog will be something very worthwhile. I also want to spend more time writing, I want to write my novel this year. I may choose to keep it to myself or do something more with it, but this is something that I want to do for me. I have the start of many outlines and some with character development I just need to decide what resonates with me and go from there. In addition for the next 30 days I am going to try to write a blog a day. This should be an interesting challenge for myself and hopefully a lot of fun too!
Do you make New Year Resolutions? What plans do you have for the coming year? I would love to hear from you! Here is to making 2012 a wonderful year.
© 2011 Rhonda
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Christmas 2011
It is amazing but it has taken chronic illness to get me organized around Christmas. Every other year I am still out there a week before Christmas and I am up wrapping gifts into the wee hours of Christmas morning. This year I was done all of my shopping by the end of the first week in December and last weekend my kids spent the night with my mom and dad and I got all of the gifts wrapped...AMAZING to say the least. I have paid the price for all of the wrapping with hands that are extremely sore, swollen and refusing to work properly but I am done and now I can relax between now and Christmas. Not being stressed out over the holiday is very much worth it!
Had it not been for on-line shopping I would never have gotten any shopping done. I actually only physically had to go to two stores and I new exactly what I was getting so it was an in and out. I cannot walk for more than 20 minutes and then I start to drag and if I continue on I have to basically be carried out of the store. Thank goodness for shopping buggies that one can lean on to keep them moving. If I stand still for more than 5 minutes my feet begin to burn. This gets in the way of standing in line, cooking, doing dishes etc. The burning pain is the kind that takes your breath away it is so painful.
This weekend it is my youngest daughter's 9th birthday. She was an early Christmas gift and now she is growing up so fast. I am so happy to have the kids home for schooling and the gift of this time with my kids is more valuable to me than anything else could be. While we are celebrating my daughter's birthday this weekend we also have my step-daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren here to celebrate Christmas with. It is going to be a whirlwind Christmas Celebrations that last weeks rather than a single day. It is a wonderful, joyous time of year and I try very hard to enjoy and let myself be distracted from the pain. Not so sure that is possible this year but I will do my very best!
The gifts are purchased and wrapped. Thanks to my husband, children and my parents the house is decorated and the tree is trimmed. All that is left is cleaning the house to be ready for company. I am truly blessed to have all of the amazing support that I have. My family is truly remarkable and there for me in each and every way possible. Sometimes I decline their help because well I am stubborn that way. I have been forced to give up hosting Christmas dinner for my family, my parents and my brother's family and the occasional friend who has nobody to spend the holiday with. This year my mom and dad are taking over and hosting Christmas Dinner. It will be so strange not to have a turkey in the oven early Christmas morning. I am sad that I won't be hosting this year. It is just one more thing that these damn diseases have taken from me. I tried to insist I could manage but we all know the reality if I try is that I will spend the following week at a minimum in bed recovering from over doing things. So I will behave, purchase the Turkey for my mom and dad and be grateful that I can enjoy a wonderful Christmas dinner with family without over doing it!
This truly is my favourite time of year! The lights on the Christmas tree are my favourite and I love to sit in the evening with all of the lights out other than the tree lights and I just enjoy. The happiness of children as they purchase gifts for their loved ones and when they receive gifts that people who loved them chose with care. Spending time with loved ones where nobody is in a hurry to be somewhere else. It really is a wonderful time of year. Now if we could have a nice blanket of snow Christmas Eve it would be perfect!
What are your family Christmas traditions? How will you spend Christmas this year?
© 2011 Rhonda
Had it not been for on-line shopping I would never have gotten any shopping done. I actually only physically had to go to two stores and I new exactly what I was getting so it was an in and out. I cannot walk for more than 20 minutes and then I start to drag and if I continue on I have to basically be carried out of the store. Thank goodness for shopping buggies that one can lean on to keep them moving. If I stand still for more than 5 minutes my feet begin to burn. This gets in the way of standing in line, cooking, doing dishes etc. The burning pain is the kind that takes your breath away it is so painful.
This weekend it is my youngest daughter's 9th birthday. She was an early Christmas gift and now she is growing up so fast. I am so happy to have the kids home for schooling and the gift of this time with my kids is more valuable to me than anything else could be. While we are celebrating my daughter's birthday this weekend we also have my step-daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren here to celebrate Christmas with. It is going to be a whirlwind Christmas Celebrations that last weeks rather than a single day. It is a wonderful, joyous time of year and I try very hard to enjoy and let myself be distracted from the pain. Not so sure that is possible this year but I will do my very best!
The gifts are purchased and wrapped. Thanks to my husband, children and my parents the house is decorated and the tree is trimmed. All that is left is cleaning the house to be ready for company. I am truly blessed to have all of the amazing support that I have. My family is truly remarkable and there for me in each and every way possible. Sometimes I decline their help because well I am stubborn that way. I have been forced to give up hosting Christmas dinner for my family, my parents and my brother's family and the occasional friend who has nobody to spend the holiday with. This year my mom and dad are taking over and hosting Christmas Dinner. It will be so strange not to have a turkey in the oven early Christmas morning. I am sad that I won't be hosting this year. It is just one more thing that these damn diseases have taken from me. I tried to insist I could manage but we all know the reality if I try is that I will spend the following week at a minimum in bed recovering from over doing things. So I will behave, purchase the Turkey for my mom and dad and be grateful that I can enjoy a wonderful Christmas dinner with family without over doing it!
This truly is my favourite time of year! The lights on the Christmas tree are my favourite and I love to sit in the evening with all of the lights out other than the tree lights and I just enjoy. The happiness of children as they purchase gifts for their loved ones and when they receive gifts that people who loved them chose with care. Spending time with loved ones where nobody is in a hurry to be somewhere else. It really is a wonderful time of year. Now if we could have a nice blanket of snow Christmas Eve it would be perfect!
What are your family Christmas traditions? How will you spend Christmas this year?
© 2011 Rhonda
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