Saturday, January 21, 2012

"Pain is inevitable. Eventually, it touches us all. Suffering, however, is optional." Sean Stephenson


I, like a lot of people like myself, have a little secret.
Every morning, I have to fight off a monster.

It greets me before I open my eyes. It whispers in my ear, "Don't get up. You hurt too much. Just lay here and allow your family to take care of everything. You know they would be more than willing to."

But the monster forgets that I'm too stubborn to listen to it. It knows that I will push past it and get up. I will do everything I have to to make it possible to enjoy my day. Right now, I am winning every day.

For a while, a couple years ago, that wasn't true. I allowed to monster to rule my life. I let my husband and my family do everything around the house. I took pain medication and stayed immobile. I forgot to take care of myself and let my hair get dirty and my face break out. I put aside the things that mattered to me, my family, my crafts, even my pets. I allowed the monster to possess my life.

I allowed the monster, Fibromyalgia, to become my identity.

I am pleased to say that I have acquired a few very powerful weapons to use against my monster. My biggest weapon is my family. While they would step in and do everything for me if I ask, they also step back and let me take control of my own life when I feel like I can. They have stood by me through thick and thin. They are my cheerleaders and my muscles when mine refuse to work. I love them dearly.

Another weapon that you will go, "Huh?" when I mention it, is Flylady. Go to flylady.com for a quick look at what I'm talking about. Flylady gives me the power to keep up with my home, regain my self-esteem, and get organized at my own pace. It has made me realize that my best friend is my kitchen timer.LOL

My latest weapon is a great motivational speaker that my daughter told me about. I'm reading his book now and he is a powerful person. He is showing me how to push past my barriers, how to claim back my life from my monster. His name is Sean Stephenson and he has a great book to read called "Get off your 'But'". My favorite quote from him is one that his mother told him when he was a child, "Pain is inevitable. Eventually, it touches us all. Suffering, however, is optional." That is now my mantra!



Now...my knitting! LOL I have a new baby sweater set that I've finished, but haven't taken pictures of yet. I also made some fingerless gloves for a family friend and gave them to her. I'm crocheting a couple doilies to put under my pepper plants right now, small sized pineapple designed that I got from a vintage doily book I've had for years. It was printed during the 40's and I love the old fashioned doilies in it. I'll try and get a picture of it when I finish it.