Challenge - Here it comes

Hello,


Having a family and getting things done can be challenging.... but when you have a chronic illness or a handicap it can be even more challenging as well as debilitating (not just physically but mentally as well).  I have had 2 TIA's (strokes) and have SLE/Lupus and Hashimoto's (thyroid disease).  There are also signs of MS but ruling it out for now.  They are all auto-immune related and so it might just be 1 thing in the end.  I am also a USMC veteran so it is also called GWS (Gulf War Syndrome if symptoms are not actually diagnosed)

Today and over the weekend is just one of those times when I really see how challenging it can be....not just to work on my craft and being a Mom & wife but just to function doing daily tasks.  From nausea to muscle weakness and cramps from headache to full blown migraine and vomiting--extreme pain--purple fingers--hair loss--stomach pain--swelling--vertigo--dysphasia--insomnia-tremors and on and on and on.  It can be so belittling and heart breaking when i have to rely on my husband to feed the kids or me.  Trying to create something out of these crappy times is not even on my mind but...at times I use those moments just to lay in bed with my family and enjoy a good movie and snacks.  Or I'll just sit there and color with my 4 year old.  

That is when the magic happens and I get a vision (no not a crazy vision-like I see dead people-that is another blog LOL) and i create something with them or through those moments.  Even if i have to ask my pre-schooler to hold the pliers for me ..... it no longer makes me feel small but like I am teaching him a craft that one day he might teach his children.  Even just the notion of being with Mom and helping out eventually makes him a better man......then I have done my job.

Share your challenges big or small and always know that there is meaning in it.
Anna