The Optimist in Me

  Whew, so it's been about 7 months since I've blogged.  Of course there's a reason beyond "I just didn't make time" and there's no doubt those issues will be scattered throughout future posts.
  For now, however, I would love to give a "brief" overview.
  Are ya ready?  Good, 'cause here we go:  Hubby was laid off 6 months ago.  A started kindergarten.  Our computer had a virus and while a friend had it to look at and hopefully fix it, their house was broken into and our laptop was among the items stolen (it had most of Bug's baby pictures on it and most of the book I had started writing).  I started an SPD support group.  My only biological uncle passed away unexpectedly in August.  My mom got evicted from her apartment.  A's SPD meltdowns have skyrocketed and she started eliminating foods that she deemed acceptable to eat (it was already a limited list, to begin with).  I started a business with a company called Celebrating Home.  Hubby and I started cleaning our congregation's Church house. Hubby got a job after being laid off for 6 months, but his new job is rather demanding time-wise.  One of my cousins is expecting and now has to deal with the recent loss of her dad (my cousins lost their mom about 10 years ago).  My depression has flared up off and on, and so has the anxiety.
  Well, I think that's about everything.
  Looking over that list it's hard to believe it all occurred in 6 months!
  There were certainly times when I felt like things couldn't get any worse.  There were times when I wasn't stressed and I thought I should be.  There were times when all I wanted to do was sleep!
  I find myself counting my blessings frequently.  When my uncle passed away I was glad that financial stress was all we had to deal with.
  When A has her meltdowns now, I can look back and remember a time in her life when the meltdowns were worse and I was at a loss and had no strategies to help us through them.
  When I think about the sentimental things we lost on the computer, I remind myself that one day--in eternity-- they won't matter, so I try not to focus on that.
  We have several means of income and while they're not ideal, they're what we have and we're thankful for that.
  So, while things aren't exactly what we would have chosen, we have each other, we have our health and we have an amazing support group and for that we will forever be grateful!
  It seems that I can over come my natural "instinct" for negative thinking--it takes a bit of work and a change in perspective--but it is possible.
  Yay!

  ~Alexis