Tuesday, October 25, 2016

I am ready for it to happen...



Spring 2016, we bought new kayaks for the hubs and I to enjoy in our back yard pond. Our life out here in the boonies (hillbilly talk for way out in the country) is all about being outdoors, getting dirty and having so.


It is winding down, my life that is.  Some BIG projects for our area non-profit are slowing down, time to pass the torch so to say and move on. I have made many good friends, fought many long and hard battles, and am looking forward to others leading the way.

“Moving on is easy.
It's staying moved on that's trickier.”  
Katerina Stoykova Klemer


Moving on for me is to have total knee replacement in 9 days.  I am ready. I have given in to my right knee for many years, never realizing what I had given up in doing so.  Good posture, restful sleep, hiking, biking, squatting, and cleaning all those dust bunnies down low to name a few.  

Do any of you get tired?





These past two years have been busy ones.  Too busy for me.  I have fibromyalgia and it is kept under control with planned rest stops.  I also have an ileostomy, not my choice, but ulcerative colitis demanded it or my life at the age of 32.  I have managed this inconvenience well, only had two revisions and a relocation in the past 26 years. But the side effects of the many medications to treat this disease (that killed Glen Frey, the Eagles, RIP) have destroyed my bones. Time to get new ones, starting with my right knee.




I have stayed up on reading and following all the blogs I enjoy so much. But I sat quietly, afraid to speak in fear that I would not meet others expectations. You know those blogs that post regularly, with beautiful photos, positive attitudes and motivational views into their daily well-planned lives. 




I love those blogs,
and I look forward to reading those blogs every time they post.


Recently, though, a blog that I follow, published a "real life to me" post. Susan at Ash Tree Cottage, said she was tired, and hurting from a flare up of Fibromyalgia. Finally, some one said its ugly name and I was not alone anymore.  I know it took courage, desperation and some humility to publish her post.

http://ashtreecottage.blogspot.com/2016/10/my-struggle-with-fibromyalgia_8.html


I rarely tell people I have fibromyalgia or an ileostomy.
Unless you have it, you just won't understand it.





Sunday, October 23, 2016

Today is a new day...

Where do I start?


I have lost myself.

I built this blog myself,
I designed it, wrote it, and placed each word on every page.

I am proud of it.

So...
 I will continue to be me.

I really do love my life.
I live in a small town, surrounded by family and friends.


The colors here in the Ozarks are especially pretty this year.
Recently, our local community celebrated
Maple Leaf Fall Festival here in Carthage, MO.


Several homes along the parade route are ready for Fall!






Our own backyard is showing the
prettiest fall colors entwined with the evening shadows.
Every night about 7:15pm
God gives us the most serene setting,
sometimes it causes us to just stop and take it all in.


Home is where my heart is.