An Invincible Summer - A Woman's Journey

Yesterday, while walking through the office, I encountered a sweet little gal who is a very positive person. We exchanged our normal greetings and then she inquired, "On a scale of 1 to 10, what is your happy number?"  Good question! I got to consider it for a second, doing an inner assessment. The answer came easy. "I have to make that a daily choice. It's not my default to feel content, quite the opposite. So I choose to be happy today.....I'd give me a 9."  "How about you?", I asked. Ashley gave herself a 7. She said it would be higher but that she and her husband were in the process of moving and it was adding a bit of stress to their lives. Seven is not bad, especially while moving. I know things are not perfect for her, she has some real heartaches. She chooses. I have another gal in my life who is a perennial victim. I don't judge her for it. I recognize that she has had a difficult life but I also see that it how she relates to t...

Today is a grateful day. I know, I know!  Everyday should be grateful day but that is just not how it works. So, instead of feeling down on myself for the bad days, I will CELEBRATE the grateful days to the hilt. I woke with a prayer and contentment. I will attempt to hold this feeling throughout my Wednesday. Wednesdays are wonderful because my girls and I are taking the NAMI Family to Family course. The three of us eat dinner together beforehand and then head off to learn, to laugh, to cry with a group of people that you wish you never had to meet but there you are, grouped together with one commonality....a mentally ill loved one. The pain in that room is palpable at times, but there is hope too. I think of a few special people that have lived with this thing for a long time and still have joy. The joy they have is a choice they've made despite the obstacles life has thrown at them. I also consider a few of the group that are angry. Not that they don't have the right to be...