Today has been a wonderful day. It started sad but eventually turned to glad. I had a very stressful dream that left me very sad. I couldn’t shake it. My brain wanted to dissociate, which is a normal trauma response for me, so it was hard to make different choices but I am committed to my wellness and I had to keep my appointment for my flu shot in case it knocked me down for a few days (sometimes that happens). I have several appointments on Tuesday…
My workout was emotionally hard. Not only did my body hurt but my heart and mind hurt and I had to choose to do every single rep and set of movements. When I was done I still was in pain and the sadness was trying to drag me to depression but I chose to do my devotional. I had a nice time in the word. I was reminded the God thinks of us with peace and with the purpose of giving us a future and hope. It helped a little.
I was chatting with Jamie Holloway and told her my struggle. She congratulated me on actively choosing to stay on task with movement and time with Jesus. That was nice to hear. She always says what I need to hear. I told her I was still blue but I hoped that when Karen got home she would cheer me up, like she always does. Jamie said she was glad I had Karen because she is the perfect spouse for me.
When Karen got home from work, I told her my struggle because when I am in that mood I sometimes say things wrong and I didn’t want her to take it personally. She appreciates the warning. As we headed towards our pharmacy it was so nice to listen and talk with her. She has been working so much. I think I missed her. When I see her she is usually getting ready to leave or heading to bed.
We have talked about changing pharmacies because it would be so convenient to have Karen be able to grab meds at the Safeway where she works but in reality, we love the service at the Walmart pharmacy on Ocean Beach. I am sure the Safeway pharmacy is great but we have a relationship with our pharmacy. As I waited for my flu shot the technician asked me if I was ready and I didn’t respond as positively as usual. She asked me why and I apologized and told her I was diagnosed with cancer a couple months ago and I am just sick of the process. I also had needed to look at my options for health insurance and I was surprised at how many companies don’t cover my meds. I told her we would have to stay with a more expensive plan because some coverage is better than no coverage and Fluvoxamine and cancer meds are expensive. She looked genuinely concerned, asked me about my treatment plan and said she would pray for me. It felt nice to have that connection.
After my shot, we walked around for about 45 minutes. That was good cardio. We ran into an old friend and then we started towards home where we had a late lunch and took a nap. It was great! Tonight we will watch a movie or two and relax. I love spending time with Karen. I just enjoy her so much!
Thank you for your prayers for Jamie. She is doing well after her surgery and should be able to go home on Monday.
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
Today was a big day with lots of emotions. I couldn’t sleep last night so on less than 4 hrs of sleep I did my workout and found myself at PeaceHealth Imaging for the first CT scan of my life. It went well and quickly.
When we were pulling out of the parking garage, my oncologist called. She was finally able to view my MRI and found that my lymph nodes are clear and the cancer in my uterus is minuscule. She has decided that we will not do the hysterectomy but a D&C and insert an IUD which along with the cancer meds I take may resolve my condition. She will use the CT Scan to verify my MRI.
I have found myself very angry at both gynecologists I have seen in the last few months because when I asked them about the chance that I may have PCOS they would not listen to me. My oncologist who specializes in gynecology keeps pushing weight loss surgery. She acts as though this procedure will give me a new lease on life, but I don’t agree and she ignores me when I try to explain myself. I do understand that my weight makes surgery more dangerous and although losing weight may help some of my conditions, which are under control, less of an issue, it won’t lessen my pain. I know this because my joints don’t bother me nearly as much as the pain in my nerves and connective tissues which is not going to change other than progress as these conditions do.
All my life, I was told that because I was fat, I would not marry or date, I would not be hired for the jobs I wanted and I would die young. Even my desire to dance was not fostered because I was too fat. It has taken me years to not hate this body. I am still dealing with emotional pain as the memories come back while my brain heals from trauma. I believe that weight loss surgery has benefited many people, but I also know it is not perfect and I don’t believe I would be successful with the procedure for several valid reasons. The fact that I have tried to advocate for myself and been ignored makes me feel like a child again.
I feel like this doctor must get kickbacks for pushing this option on people. I am sure she wants to see me succeed but I don’t want to be ignored when we are talking about my body.
I am not upset about the change. Who wants to have body parts removed? The surgery is invasive and we don’t know how my body will react to the stress. Another plus is that the IUD will balance my hormones and may be what helps me lose weight slowly and more naturally. I do workout almost every day and have been walking a lot more, I already eat mindfully and drink lots of water. I mentioned that to this doctor and she ignored me.
I have decided to not be pushed back about this. She wants to refer me to a specialist in weight loss surgery but I am not going to jump to do that. I have read quite a bit about weight loss surgery and even went to an orientation with my friend. My wife is a personal trainer and has heard many horror stories, along with success stories, but I don’t want to set myself up for failure. Since the IUD may be what I need to help my body work better, I will not consider changing my mind until we see what having the IUD will do for me.
I have been chewing on this all day and I have to say I am proud of myself. I did my workout, took 2 walks and got a nap in. Over the last two days I have worked with three patterns for a blanket for my great nephew, who should be here in February. I have ripped out my attempts so many times but I have finally found a design that inspires me. I have not crocheted in over a year but it is nice to have yarn in my hands. My new bamboo crochet hooks are wonderful too! Karen had the day off and it was nice to veg out with Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel and be able to spend time together.
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
I am proving myself consistent at having trouble with my limits. With everything I did yesterday, I have been sluggish all day. I would love a nap but I am afraid I will have trouble sleeping tonight…Karen won’t be home for 2 hours.
Today I made a huge crockpot of soup: drippings and leftover chicken, onion, carrot and celery, chopped mushrooms, corn, bacon bits, chicken bone broth, wild rice…and then I looked in the fridge and found a couple spicy sausages that are too hot on their own, but nice in 6 quarts of soup and some frozen peas and broccoli that were about become freezer burned. Then I added boullion, garlic, pepper and Italian seasoning. It smells so good in here and after working in the rain, Karen will enjoy a nice hot meal.
I got my workout done and took a short walk…rain is not nice on arthritic joints…
I also made salads for the next two days for me. I always think of my Grandma Clemenson when I make a salad, she is the lady in the picture above with my little cousin. I didn’t get a lot of time with her, but I do remember helping her in the kitchen before a meal. She told me to make the salad and I was surprised by everything she put in a salad. On the other side of my family, salad was simple and mainly lettuce. I remember Grandma saying: Summer, nobody cares about the lettuce, they like everything else. So I usually start with a salad mix that is cabbage based (vital to a high iron diet) then I add diced onion, chopped carrots, sliced beets, sliced black olives and anything else that might be available…today I had some cucumber. The mix had bacon bits, sesame seeds and a lemon vinaigrette. Tomorrow when I eat it I will add pepper and cottage cheese and if I am needing protein, a can of albacore tuna. I got a lot out of that day with Grandma Clemenson and people like my salads much better too.
When the assistant called to schedule my surgery and related appointments she told me if my hemoglobin was under 10, I would need an iron infusion. Luckily, I got my labs back and my hemoglobin is a little over 11. That is still considered low but MUCH BETTER than 5.8. Thank You Jesus for helping my body heal quickly. My red and white blood cells are both in normal range…so I am doing well!
On another positive note, Karen’s mom has been discharged from the hospital. We still don’t have a lot of information about her condition, we are hopeful that the hospital thought she was well enough to leave. Thank you for your prayers.
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
Today I am tired! I slept for 12 hours straight last night and slept in so much that I had to eat to take meds before my workout. I have GERD so that is not fun but I made it through! Thank You Jesus!
Each exercise was hard. My body is tired; really tired.
I had to do laundry today because I didn’t have any clean compression hose to wear.
Jamie gave me some wool laundry balls on our last visit and I love them! I tend to have to hang sweatshirts in the bathroom to dry the rest of the way before they can go in the closet…not today and all our clothes were noticeably softer. What a gift. I highly recommend them. I hate dryer sheet, they are bad for the environment and usually have way too much perfume on them so I don’t buy them…these dryer balls are a huge money saver and are biodegradable. I have been meaning to buy them but they just never made it to the top of my priority list…Jamie scored an amazing gift for me…she is such a thoughtful friend.
Karen has walked all over Longview today since the car is at the shop. She walked to the church to work and then over to check on the car. She also walked to the gym to train someone and stopped by Safeway to see if they needed help…she came home long enough to eat something warm (thank You Jesus for inspiring me to get dinner together early in the crockpot), change her clothes and walk to Safeway to help them close. She is such a trooper…and not one complaint. I am so thankful for her.
She caught me mending her shirt before she left and asked me if she had popped a button or something…she likes to take the blame for silly things (in my mind)…so I told her, that I bought a 30 year old shirt, on purpose to replace the one I made her get rid of when I was still trying to make her dress like I wanted her to…women can be so stupid…we always think we can change our partner…I like the look of the worn shirt. It had a life before we ever saw it…the shirt had not torn, it has begun to wear out…but luckily it was along the hem and I only mended it to keep it from fraying because Karen always tucks it in so no one will see it. I told her I didn’t even have to do a good job at mending it, I just didn’t want to lose the hem. She is happy. So am I.
When I get off of here I am going to take a walk around the building so I can keep my word to myself that I would walk every day before my surgery. I hope to take a shower but I will wait for Karen to return home, in case I have asked too much of this body and need help.
I hope you are enjoying this beautiful night. God bless you.
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
Today was good but it won. I did get my workout in and a very small walk in. I hurt today and even though I am tired I am not sleeping and if I do sleep, I have stressful dreams.
Talking on the phone is hard for me. Phones have been used as weapons against me in the past. In the last few years I have tried to make more of an effort to handle making doctor appointments so Karen has one thing off her shoulders. It took 5 phone calls is two days but my CT Scan is scheduled. That is a win for me.
I got my labs done today but I am pretty sure my primary didn’t get the message from my oncologist or myself because they only took one vial…so I imagine I will have to go back. Ugh…
Karen was able to get me to the clinic and back but as she tried to manage the car, while attempting a few errands the car died. Thank God I insisted we get AAA a few months ago because we had no money to pay for a tow, even with reimbursement from our insurance company. I think this was a win for God…We had an appointment for next Wednesday but now that our car is at the shop it may be repaired sooner…I hope. I am always amazed at Karen’s faith…she is so much better at stressful things than I am.
I think I am going to bed early tonight so I can rest up for trying again tomorrow…
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
Today was a good day! I woke up in a lot of pain, understandably, with the amount of walking I did yesterday but once I forced myself to do my workout my body was willing to comply…Thank You Jesus!
I walked more yesterday than I have in a long time and my body bounced back with a little self-love…this tells me I can push myself harder than I have been. Obviously my red blood cells have rallied and my anemia is minor at worst…we will find out tomorrow when I have labs. In preparation I have taken two short walks today. I don’t want to stress my body out too much, she can really throw me down if she wants to and that is not my goal.
Although my oncologist doesn’t think my weight will be too much of an issue during my surgery, mainly because she believes that most of my weight is in my legs, due to lymphedema, every pound I can get off before my surgery will help me get through and recover from surgery better. She is also planning to do my surgery at Good Samaritan in Portland, where they are better prepared for any issue that might arise during the procedure, because of my size. Her main concern is how my lungs will handle the position my body has to be in for the surgery, so walking will help build them up. I wont be able to workout for an undetermined amount time after my surgery because we don’t know how Fibromyalgia and Psoriatic Arthritis will respond to the stress…obviously swelling will be an issue so getting as much water off my body beforehand will at least set my body up for more success.
It was really affirming to me to meet with a doctor that was so positive about my body. She didn’t deny that my weight is an issue but she looked at it much more positively than I am accustomed to. I have lived with a lot of emotional abuse and gaslighting related to my body and I really need to see my weight as something that is a diagnosis that I can deal with and improve with diligence and self-love, instead of an insurmountable mountain that I can never overcome.
I met with my therapist today and told her about my interaction with people from my past and she was really happy to hear how I have grown. I used to dissociate for any number of days after dealing with them and Karen would beg me to take my meds and eat and drink anything…this time I recognized my feelings, had a good cry and a nap because I was tired and then I took care of myself. I only lost 1/2 a day in the process. This is amazing for me and it was nice to get the affirmation from my therapist that I didn’t disappear, I recognized the process of mourning and used my tools.
We have updated my treatment plan because I have accepted my choice to permanently separate from my abusers, that need to keep me in a scapegoat role. Now we are going to work on my responses to adversity, which seem to be more related to relationships and large groups. She also affirmed with me that working on adversity is important for me. With my goal of being a foster parent, which is not an easy job and presents the opportunity of the children’s responses to adversity to be a trigger for me as well. She agrees that finding out my triggers with strangers is a very good idea. If I am aware of my triggers I can set my intentions, create an action plan and bounce back quicker.
I also plan to add mindfulness meditation, one time per week, with a future goal of 5 minutes per day. We both agree that this will aid in the further healing of my brain and seems to be the natural next step for me. My goal is to start this on Saturday because I have been spending a lot of time on the phone getting appointments scheduled to prepare me for surgery and my insurance company is not moving as fast as my oncologist would like so I imagine I will be busy for the rest of the workdays this week.
My goal is to do my workout and get at least 1 walk in every day, but I will do more as my body is able. I also got a great nap in…which would have been longer if Xavier had not thought 4 hours was enough…gotta love him!
Today Jesus gathered another beautiful soul with Him in heaven. I know that my niece and her family are hurting as they accept this loss but Betty was an amazing woman who knew how important it was to invest in her family and I know that these memories will comfort them as they learn to walk without her…and knowing Betty, she is cheering them all on with legions of angels!
Yes. Today was a good day. Growth and perseverance are gifts in themself. I encourage you to make self-love a top priority. You deserve it.
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
Today was a success! Even though the clutch went out (we will find out if the parts that are acting up are still covered by the warranty on Wednesday) we were able to get a rental…thanks to our good friend, Jhohanna, and not miss my first visit with the oncologist.
I did not take my pill that helps me sleep last night because it makes me sleep hard and I didn’t want to sleep through my alarm. I knew the only way I could do all walking I needed to do is if I started my day with my workout…so on about 3 hours sleep I did my whole day. Lucky for me, my only appointment tomorrow is on Zoom… I may not be able to move much tomorrow…
We made it without any events and I really like my doctor. She explained things well and her goal is for me to have surgery within the first week of December. She has taken me off a lot of my supplements and I will probably have to go off methotrexate the week before surgery. I already had labs scheduled for Thursday to check my hemoglobin and kidneys but my oncologist wants to order full labs so she will talk to my primary. She wants a CAT Scan and echocardiogram too. I will probably see her two more times before surgery.
She is very positive about my diagnosis. From my test results it appears I am in stage 1, class 1. This means we caught it early and it growing very slowly. My procedure will be done laparoscopically which means it will heal faster.
On our way back we stopped at Trader Joe’s and grabbed a few things for dinner to take to Jamie’s home. I love their yogurt and carrot juice so we got some of that too.
Our visit with Jamie was wonderful! We Zoom and chat often so we are up to date but it has been so long since I could hug her neck! It was great! I brought gifts I have been collecting since I saw her last. She had some for us. It is fun to see what we have for each other…although I must say my favorite gift was watching Nicholas year into the Goofy toy I bought him! I think more toys might be found for fur-nephew…
I am now lying in bed and will probably not need help falling asleep tonight. What a great day!
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
I have been in therapy many times throughout my life. I have been diligent for the last 6 years. I am healing from a lifetime of being a scapegoat. I have had people from my past on restriction for about 5 years and now know I must give up the idea of reconciliation. This has been a gut wrenching decision, long in the making. I have mourned for years and I imagine I will have moments of mourning for the rest of my life but I am at the point where I must focus on my life…funny that a 45-year-old woman would say this, but I was 35 before I realized I didn’t even know what I wanted.
My main goal in therapy, now that I have accepted my decision, is to keep fine tuning my response to adversity and continue to love myself and affirm my own value. The cycle of abuse ends with me.
I have wanted to be a foster parent since I was very young and these beautiful children don’t deserve to come to another dysfunctional home. In my house we do our best every day, recognize failure and start again. There will be no scapegoat or golden child, orbiting spouse or flying monkeys (unless we are watching The Wizard of Oz).
When my nephews and nieces were little and they would act out, I would ask the other children if they felt loved by this behavior and then we would express other ways to communicate and interact with each other. I intend to keep that up. There is no need to compete in a family who refuses to leave a man behind.
The last few days have been hard. With effects of cancer and inappropriate interactions with people from my past, I have been dealing with feelings of failure, hopelessness, anxiety and obsessive thoughts, but I try again every day. So far I have done my workout, had a nice brunch with My Love, have a load in the washing machine and I will probably make some adjustments to who can view my posts. I might see if my friends want to Zoom or read a book…who knows…but whatever I end up doing I plan to make sure it adds to my life. I deserve it.
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
Today was a good day. I have very little energy but I was able to stay awake more today than yesterday. Maybe my body will adjust to the new meds and it wont be so bad…especially as I get used to the side effects. I already take a lot of meds but I have to say the side effects of the cancer meds are not fun…headaches, extremely painful gas pains, absolute exhaustion, constant cotton mouth…even my taste buds seem to have changed…avocados seem to taste like fish lately…and not in a good way. Jamie Holloway reminded me that I will see the oncologist in 6 days and maybe she will make some helpful changes.
My moods are balancing out but anger still creeps in and I have no one to be angry with so I feel very frustrated. No one gave me cancer (or any of my chronic conditions), it doesn’t make sense to be angry at my sick body…she didn’t mean to get sick, and cancer just happens sometimes, so it doesn’t make sense to be angry at cancer being itself. Yet I have the worry and the pain and everything else that comes with it. I don’t carry it alone though. This isn’t the first time Jamie has reminded me of something positive and you have to believe that Karen wakes up positive (after her coffee…and at least 10 am) and she stays that way until she passes out. Last night she was verbally reminding herself that her talking was keeping me from falling asleep. I also know that I have a ton of people praying for me and believing I will be healed. That helps too.
Today I had to adjust my November budget, lucky for me, Karen bought some of the things on my list so it wasn’t hard to add the things I missed on. While I was in spreadsheets I added the receipts for October that I have so far…and because I my OCD gets things interesting sometimes I looked to see what I have spent on wellness this year. Wow!
I am on disability and I do get more than single people, but I have co-pays, my insurance doesn’t cover all my prescriptions and between my tincture, vitamins and essential oils…I spend A LOT on supplements. From January through September, Karen has spent $748.68 on my meds, after insurance. My October budget is not done so I didn’t add it but we have spent about $130 the last two months and I am sure it will keep going up with this cancer diagnosis. I have spent over $400 on doctor bills and that doesn’t count the balances I am working on, but I am grateful to be caught up on my payment plans and very grateful that all my doctors are willing to bill me (I am a little scared to see the bill for my ultrasound and MRI…and I know PeaceHealth has not updated my account for the 2 visits to the specialist each costing me $50 each. Between all the supplements, Karen pays for my tincture and I don’t separate her supplements from mine (she has a few different ones and so do I) and we both use the essential oils…it is hard to say what each of us pays for this part of our wellness and I am not even including groceries. It is very expensive to be sick.
I would like to take a moment for a shameless plug for Wellness Works NW…if you would like to avoid illness or have help creating an action plan for your wellness, regardless of whether you do or don’t have chronic illness, Karen G Clemenson would love to help you. She especially enjoys working with children, more mature adults and those living with chronic illnesses and she is really good at it. She is willing to go to doctor appointments and work with specialists on a personal plan for you. She has had several people who have come back from the doctor and heard from the doctor: Whatever your trainer was doing with you, keep doing it.
Did you know that you can write off some of your cost for a personal trainer? Karen does and she can tell you how…for the entire month of November if you purchase 2 months, up front, you can have January for free…Call or text 360-442-8061 for more information.
I was told to rest today so I saved laundry for tomorrow. I think I will spend the rest of the evening resting and watching reruns of Blue Bloods. Enjoy your evening!
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
Every day I wake up is a good day. Today I am exhausted.
Jamie Holloway has been posting on Wellness Works NW about Invisible Illness Awareness. I live with invisible illness and if I didn’t have my cane you might not think I was sick. But I live with at least 10 diagnoses and I am good at pretending I am fine. I have watched my reaction during Zoom meetings where I have shooting pain running through my face with hardly a flinch and a calm placement of my hand on pressure points.
I don’t require a cane always but side effects from my mood stabilizers makes me randomly dizzy. I don’t know when it will happen and I don’t want to fall so I walk with a cane to brace myself when necessary. Without my mood stabilizers, I am tormented by obsessive thoughts and am angered easily. I take my pills everyday because I hate living with myself without them but mostly because Karen doesn’t deserve my rage…ever.
I can do my workout for an hour, most days but my workout is not aerobic and it cannot be. My exercises are meant to isolate and work individual muscles and joints so I can keep moving. My muscles and bones are strong but my nerves and connective tissues are affected by fibromyalgia and psoriatic arthritis. I also have lymphedema in my left leg, which means I have a lot of pooling and swelling in my leg. Many of my exercises are meant to help my body push fluids towards my abdomen so they can be eliminated. My body is always tired but there are times I don’t have a choice but to stop. Compound movements (movement that utilizes several muscle groups…like walking) are very draining for me.
I was so thankful to be invited to walk a section of the lake by one of Karen’s clients but in reality I have had so many flares, as well as issues related to my cancer, that I cannot do it. I am still low on blood; it took my body 4 months to recover from the transfusion I needed in February and my hemoglobin was not as low in February as it was in September. When you are low on blood your organs work harder to deliver the oxygen and blood needed throughout your body. Every time I have a flare I have trouble functioning at all because my pain triggers my anxiety which makes my pain worse and sometimes causes twitching in my breast bone, where I have arthritis; eventually, if it is a long flare I tend to become depressed.
I am hoping when my cancer is eradicated I will have an easier time building my stamina again. I miss the body that used to be able to walk a section of the lake in 10 minutes and could work all day. If I push myself too hard now, I may not be able to move for a day or two. I know I may never be able to do a 12 minute mile again but I do want to complete a 5K at some point in my life…probably not in the next 12 months though…
I have lived with GERD for 20 years. I used to take all kinds of meds but now I know how unhealthy that is. I have removed many things from my diet. These same things that cause eruptive acid reflux also causes pain and swelling in my body. I enjoy my stomach not hurting so even though it makes it hard to go out or even have dinner at someone else’s house, it works for me.
I didn’t choose to live in a body that needs all the rules I live with but I have learned to love my body and usually I am good at going with the flow. I have pushed myself a lot lately, trying to feel normal and do many things I let go while I was too sick to do them. I am not surprised I am exhausted today but I have learned to do many things while seated to save my energy. I was able to make Karen’s lunch. I put away the laundry from yesterday and laid out Karen’s clothes for tomorrow (she is so spoiled). I tidied up Karen’s“corner” not a fun job but necessary. I also cleaned out the drawer in my desk. I plan to spend the rest of the time until Karen gets home resting and napping with Xavier while Blue Bloods plays in the background. Yes…today was a good day..
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
Today has been an excellent day. After our walk last night a lot of pain set in…the joy of Fibromyalgia…we hadn’t picked up my prescriptions yet so sleep was hard. I doubled down on my tincture and that helped. I woke up in pain so I started slow. I got my workout in, going slower than usual. I got the July financials done. I started a big pot of black beans with ground turkey that will be great in a couple hours. I also got a shower in.
Karen has been in and out all day, working at the church and running errands. She is dozing in front of the TV right now. It is nice to see her stop. I had wanted to give her a pedicure today but my body is done so that will wait for tomorrow.
I will probably need to take a break from my workout tomorrow. I think I antagonized my Achilles’ tendon on my left leg…my right one just healed…Ugh…Psoriatic Arthritis effects the connective tissues in the body so I probably need to learn new limits. Chronic Illness is no fun…
I did not hear from Legacy regarding the oncologist, so I called my doctor back. She had told me to call if they didn’t reach me in a week. She has tried to contact them again. I am to call her if I don’t hear from them on Monday. I hope to hear from them soon….
I think tomorrow will be a movie day. My body needs to rest but I am feeling accomplished and hopeful!
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
Today has been a great day! I got my workout in and gave myself a pedicure. I have had several moments with Karen and cuddled with Xavier. I can also sign off on the June financial documents…I worked on July and August a bit too…I have listened to great music…at some point I will put away the laundry that hangs to dry, take a walk with My Love and maybe even watch a movie.
It has occurred to me that my cancerdiagnosis may have been the best thing to happen to me. I didn’t realize how much energy I gave everyday to mourn and pine for people that just aren’t into me. Since I made the decision to let them go, I find myself asking myself what I want to do today. I am much more focused and productive.
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
I have decided that cancer is just a diagnosis, much like all the other ones I have lived through. In fact I took having arthritis much harder because it is chronic and debilitating. I am going to live through this and become stronger…and if I don’t I will go live with Jesus. Either way I am blessed.
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
I am not shocked that it takes a diagnosis that can kill me that my siblings would finally reach out to me after so many years. I was given siblings that require more forgiving than I have time for. When they needed me, I gave my time, money and love but it was never reciprocated. In return I have been interrupted, told to stop talking, ignored, rejected and cut out my nieces and nephew’s lives (the real reason I gave for so long).
One sibling was my best friend for years but then she was gone. Another sibling just cut me out, not even answering my messages when I wanted to see if they were ok. The only one that hasn’t reached is the most evil; they lie and manipulate situations so they are always right or they are the victim, it makes me sick to watch. I hope they leave me alone. I don’t care if they want to feel like they did the right thing to check in with me.
I am tired of waiting for my parents and siblings to show any interest in my life or having a relationship.
Love is not enough. I pray for these people and try to enjoy the good memories I have but I deserve people who respect and enjoy me. I can’t carry anyone but me and my true family. I am not going to beg for time and relationship anymore.
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
I made two phone calls today. I had shared the news with my two best friends in their preferred way of communication; Messenger. I had thought it many times, cried about it too but those phone calls where I said the words brought me to hysterical tears. It doesn’t matter that the doctor said we caught it early, it is easily treatable and doesn’t usually spread quickly…I feel disconnected. I am changed. I have cancer.
I am overwhelmed with the response to my post about my cancer diagnosis. For someone who feels alone most of the time, I don’t even know what to say but: Thank you.
To be honest I am extremely touchy right now but thankful for positive comments.
I am not a person that understands contacting people on holidays only, so if you are one of those people, please just send your prayers.
Even if you think you know my history, you probably only know someone else’s perspective. Before I was diagnosed with cancer, I was also diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Lymphedema, GERD, Diabetes, PTSD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder and OCD…with only my wife and sister/friend to help me be strong. I have already been contacted by a sibling that hasn’t spoken to me in years. I made sure they understood I have nothing for them.
If this is too much information for you, I am sorry but I strive to live an honest and authentic life. Secrets got me here and they are not welcome anymore. It may sound like I have forgiving to do but I have forgiven and love and pray for the people in my past, I just have no appetite for drama and competition and I choose to be honest and refuse to be punished for it.
God bless you all.
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
I read this book yesterday. It only has 64 pages so I drank two cups of green tea with honey, from my friend Heike, to help with my allergies and digested the words in this book.
The depth of the belief in God, or the Great Mystery, as their Higher Power, is enough to leave me speechless and a little envious. The things taken from the Native Americans and added to or adulterated by white man, are too great to fathom and I shed a few tears and asked God to forgive my ancestors. But the loss white people have, and still may cause the people who were here before anyone else for centuries, is not the greatest knowledge I gleaned from this book.
The reverence the Americans spoken of in this book, toward their Creator is mind blowing. The respect for life, ALL LIFE, before they were affected by alcohol and self centered concepts is astounding! Not just humans, animals and our earth, but everything because they believe that the spirit of God is in everything the Creator made and is alive and worthy of respect. Quiet praise is constant toward the Great Mystery.
Last night I regurgitated some of the beliefs and customs of these peaceful people over and over to Karen. We enjoyed talking about these things and even debated about government influences in the world in response to the information shared.
Today as I put together a meat loaf it occurred to me to thank God for the animals who died for our dinner tonight. Then I was thanking God and asking blessing for all the hands that had a job in growing the produce, processing the seasonings, herbs and condiments…and then the people who created the dishes I used, the tools and appliances I have and home I live in, the clothes I wear and the linens we have, the drivers, the clerks and so on.
We are such a blessed people. History cannot be undone or erased but it can be a tool to bring us to repentance and change in ourself. I have no power to change anyone but I can look honestly at myself and bring the less than perfect parts of me before God, or whatever you call your Higher Power, and make a plan to change: the way I think, speak, live and honor all that My God has let me have in order to bring Him glory.
I can only judge myself and blame myself for the behaviors I have let myself act out, but since restoration is His goal in His great love, Jesus has paid for any blame and I am grateful. I am not perfect, but I am going to keep looking inside myself for anything that does not bring Jesus glory and acknowledge His grace and His newness in me as I try to let go of bad habits that hurt His creation and make Him smaller than He actually is in my life.
If you take anything from this writing, please know that there is no condemnation for those in Christ. If you feel defensive, repent and ask your Higher Power to show you how to be better. This message is not meant to make anyone feel bad or guilty but ask you to look to Your Creator and ask how you can be better from this moment forward.
I do not believe in a fire and brimstone god or one who wants me to feel guilt and shame because that is not what Jesus taught. I believe in The Lord that is happy to have made me, live for me, die for me, return to life and show me how to live in peace and love with Him.
With all my heart: God loves you and is happy He made you, no matter who you are, what you have done or what has been done to you and He is the God of reconciliation. Be blessed!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
There should be a difference between our public and personal behaviors. There are things I do at home that I would never do in public. The same with public health guidelines and personal choices.
We must own our behaviors and choices and stop being defensive, while knowing that the same right I have to believe or live in a certain way, is also your right too. We don’t have to agree but we should be respectful.
We also don’t all have to be friends. If my beliefs and choices offend you, and you have discussed it with me, and I don’t accommodate you, you have the right to choose how much of your time you want to give me; as I also have the same right to choose how much time I want give you.<
You don’t have to own the weight of my choices. You don’t have to change me. Your responsibility is to your physical and mental health and to learn and respect your boundaries. If you choose to give your time and energy to others, own that too.
We are all dealing with personal issues from our past and present. It is ok to not engage with people that make you tired or feel defensive. These people may not mean to steal from you, but if someone cannot be enough for themselves and they purposefully or inadvertently take your energy, you have the right to be your best person separately from them.
People that make you tired are not getting the best you either…you eventually will abuse them in your exhaustion even if you don’t want to. I have experienced being the abuser on both sides: I have taken too much and I have defended myself to the detriment of others and myself…even with people I love.
I have reasons for wearing or not wearing a mask, getting a vaccine or not, eating in restaurants or not…or any other behaviors that might trigger you. I don’t have to share these with you. You don’t have to explain yourself to me either; however we must respect each other enough to not abuse each other for our choices and choose how much time we will give to each other.
There have been many lovely people that I have wanted to have a closer relationship with, that never worked out. It didn’t work because our paths were different and we had to choose where we used our time. These choices had nothing to do with the level of respect we had for each other.
Each person has only enough energy for a certain amount of relationships based on how they live, work and view relationships. Karen and I are intense people. One thing we have in common is how we view relationships, although we may interact with the people around us very differently based on our perspectives, personalities and energy levels. Our relationship with each other is paramount to any other, except our God. We have an extreme need for a higher level of privacy than many people we have met and we each have about 2 extremely close friends, about 2 close friends and everyone else is an acquaintance at varying levels. We don’t do this because we don’t love people but because we do love people and highly value relationship and we are hard workers that have to balance our responsibility to our work, personal and family relationships. I also have many chronic illnesses that affect our choices on how we use our time. I am assuming everyone must decide how they use their time, energy and devotion and I know that everyone has different levels of what they can give and receive from the world.
Society paints an illusion that we must be the same with everyone in many versions of codependent experiences and expectations. This is not true. If you cannot or won’t do a certain thing that I find vital to my existence, it is ok. I don’t disregard your freedom to live your life. It is yours and mine is mine. We don’t have to set fire to each other because we don’t live the same way. We only need to give each other the grace to live knowing that some decisions we make will keep others outside our space and we can choose to stay out of other people’s spaces if they do not align with what we need to be successful.
My choices, behaviors, beliefs are mine and yours are yours. This is how we love our neighbor as ourself. Jesus told us to give freely, not to the detriment to ourself and others. I give everything I have until I have to stop. Sometimes I feel loss because I don’t have what others need. Sometimes I feel loss because I don’t have enough for my own needs. This is part of the limitation of being human. Love as much as you can. It is ok to say no.
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
This morning, for the first time in almost 2 weeks, I had the energy to lay Karen‘s clothes out for work, tidy up, make coffee and Karen’s lunch (including scrubbing her lunch box), check email and try to get Karen out of bed in time to grab a real breakfast before her long shift at Safeway…
I had this great post planned in my head as I was lying in bed with my family, enjoying the moment. There was a moment that my hand fit in Karen’s and Xavier was lying on my chest with his paw on my cheek. It was sweet. One moment where we were all holding onto each other. I got some great sleep last night, even before I fell asleep it was sweet and silly. I have been really sick all month and I finally decided to stop living with the pain and vape a bit of high CBD so I could relax. I have been using the same cartridge I bought in September 2019, so I obviously don’t do this often.
That great post is gone now but I will try for something great…
Last night ended up being great night! I couldn’t talk and that made me laugh. I could feel my body letting go of the tension, first in my face and head, then my hands and then slowly, my midsection. Xavier decided to lay on my stomach for a while and it seemed like much longer than usual. He and I are both very anxious creatures so he generally does a check in and then gets overly stimulated and has to walk away for a bit. He is terrified of being under blankets so if I put my hands under the blanket he leaves. But last night he was happy to sit and purr and didn’t care if I slipped under the blankets. I was pretty inebriated so I can only gauge how long the visit was by the amount of time he spent on me while we watched SNL…even by that measurement, it was a longer and more peaceful sit than we have had in a long time. I think he must have been enjoying my calm.
Being Sick
I have been miserable for the entire month of January. It seemed like all my chronic conditions each wanted to host their own rager…I have a lot of them so it has been quite the ride. I was never much of a partier so I am ready for peace. That said it has been a month of total blessings right along with the trials. Although I have been dealing with symptoms that left me exhausted, and in fact the last two weeks I have hardly been able to stay awake long enough to use the restroom and drink ridiculous amounts of water. The inflammation in my abdomen had effected all of me so I was forcing myself to eat small amounts, in order to just have enough calories to function. I could not cook or do the laundry or any of the things I do to maintain our home and Karen as she works her 2 jobs, on top of trying to keep Wellness Works NW open during a pandemic and all that implies, so Karen had those things on her shoulders too, which I feel bad about but she says I shouldn’t…
As I could do little but sleep, I would pray. I couldn’t sit up long enough to read my bible so I figured I would use the time to just talk with God as He inspired me to. During my moments of lucidity here are just a few things that bless my so much!
Karen is so devoted to our family and always figures out how to make everything happen. She even figured out how to do the laundry and only shrunk 2 shirts!
Xavier is good at taking care of me. He knows when I need to take meds and does what it takes to get me up to do that. He has figured out how to grab my arm and just hold it to show me to try to relax. Even when he is too anxious to interact too much with me, he sits and holds his gaze on mine to remind me that we will be ok. He is the perfect Emotional Support Animal for me.
My sister Jamie is a rock. Even in her trials she learns from mistakes and blesses everyone around her. She had her own COVID-19 scare and made it through with a negative test result, while praying for her caregiver, who does have it. She is so smart and not over-emotional so she is a great help to me when I don’t know what to do.
One of my oldest friends, Sarah, got her dream job! Praise Jesus!
One of my siblings reached out to me and used the word “Trust”. This is huge. I didn’t overreact or over-serve…this too is huge!
There were many chances to pray for people on Facebook and watch the blessings flow…I love that!
I learned that I LOVE SEAWEED SOUP from Chinese Garden in Longview, WA. It doesn’t smell great, but if you can take a bite you get over it and it is so full of goodness!
God carried me through, as always.
Crazy is REAL and COMMON
I crashed yesterday. You can only try to maintain through pain so long…While I have been sick I have been having lots of nightmares. I would wake up and talk to God about them. Most of my nightmares are either real events I have lived through or symbolic of real trauma situations or relationships. I don’t want to hold people guilty for things they can’t undo, especially when I know they are just as exposed, if not more, to emotional neglect, mental and physical abuse…I can’t hold someone guilty forever without hurting myself and I don’t want to hurt them either. Most of these people are smart, good, hard working people and they were just surviving; the neglect and abuse, no matter how much it hurt me, was in most cases, just them living the way they know how to live.
But I keep hearing a moment in Blue Bloods (Season 10, Episode 16) where Erin says to her ex-husband, Jack, “You hurt me.”
They say a few more lines and then Jack asks her how he is supposed to respond and Erin says, “You aren’t.”
There is a universal truth to this conversation. Many times when people hurt each other, it is only our responsibility to handle our pain. The truth is there are people who hurt me. I know I have hurt them too. The revelation seems fresh to me, however it isn’t. I carry pain inside me that has been with me forever. I don’t mean to. Scientists have proven that our muscles have memory and we carry our trauma with us. Even if that is true, I want to be honest with myself so that I can walk forward and not worry about the past. God wants me to live in the moment. In Genesis 19, Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt when she looked back as they fled for their lives. God told them not to look back. She may have become overwhelmed by the very site of God raining down His punishment on Sodom and Gomorrah but either way the woman lost her life because she looked back instead of living in the moment, like God said. I don’t want to be like Lot’s wife.
I also really want Jesus to bless these people who aren’t with me right now. I want them to be healthy, successful and happy. I don’t want to make a painful situation worse.
Emotional Break was Imminent
Besides this revelation, I had another this week: I have had migraines since at least 6th grade and I didn’t know it. I have a ridiculous pain threshold. I thought the whooshing sound I heard in my head was a hallucination or stress because I never had a heart attack or stroke and they usually happen when I am torqued. I had been checking my temperature and Karen had been checking my pulse and they were normal as it sounded like troops marching in my ears and felt like someone was shoving golf balls through the veins at the base of my neck. I felt sorry for my 10-year-old self who had way too much responsibility. I had to fight back the guilt laden tapes of people begging me to go to the doctor when I was a girl, that I rebelled against because it was the only thing I could control and I would not be allowed to go alone and I didn’t want to be the reason for someone else’s mental break because I wasn’t the child they wanted or needed me to be. I had read the Mayo Clinic website several times trying to take in what it had to say while memories of my younger self flushed over me.
Another reason for my crash, besides the normal stress of living in a hotel and trying to find housing, being chronically ill, both physically and mentally, COVID-19, politics and all the other normal challenges of life is a choice I made. I kept seeing this #senioryearchallenge and I know I needed to stay clear of it. I knew it would not help me. But in a moment of being sick and wanting to find a way to feel less disconnected I answered the questions.
You don't have to read this...it is mainly so I can share it with my therapist...
Think about your SENIOR year in High School…if you can remember that long ago!! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be! It doesn’t take but 5 minutes, do it!!! 😊.
Class of: 1993
Did you know your current love? I knew Jesus but not my wife…
Type of car? White 1976 Plymouth Gran Fury my friends referred to as the Love Boat, which I never understood…but I do remember times we had 8 ladies in the car, sharing seat belts on more than one occasion…we had a ridiculous amount of bomb threats that year.
What kind of job? Nanny for the Pegg’s, Child care provider at First Baptist Church, random babysitting jobs and chauffeur, housekeeper and whatever else they needed for my family.
Where did you live? Longview, WA
Were you popular? I never thought of myself as popular, but people always knew my name… I always thought it was that my name was easy to remember but it could also be that I was disassociating a lot or too tired at school to remember meeting people. Honestly I don’t remember a lot from high school.
Were you in choir or band? Choir
Ever get suspended? No
If you could, would you go back and do it again? No. I would have never been able to hear what I would say to my 17 year old self, which is the only reason I would want to go back…
Still talk to the person that you went to prom with? I went to prom with 10 beautiful women that didn’t have traditional dates. We had dinner at Charlie’s, forced the photographer to accommodate us by rearranging the set so we could all fit in the picture (we even grabbed a few friends from their dates), danced till we couldn’t dance anymore and then overwhelmed the staff at Topper’s with our extreme laughter and a video camera that was used to inspire great silliness. Technically my date was, my sister, Jamie Holloway and we chat daily!
Did you skip school? Yes but usually it was to run errands for my single parent.
Go to all the Football games? Senior year I made a point of going to games but I had no idea about the game until I started watching games with Karen G Clemenson…she is the only one who knew how to answer my questions.
Favorite subject? Journalism and Creative Writing
Do you still have your yearbooks? Most of them…my sibling “misplaced” my senior year book.
Did you follow your career path? I have been so blessed to be everything I have ever wanted to be, short of mother and grandmother, but I am not dead yet… but my plan of being a grade school teacher wasn’t what I really wanted so…no.
Do you still have your high school ring? I never got one. Highly school was not something I really wanted to commemorate with a ring, but I did buy a mini ring necklace that still lives in my jewelry box and my mug holds my writing utensils.
Who was your favorite teacher? Mrs Darby
What was your favorite style? I am not sure there is a name for my style in high school. I was pretty eccentric…I made most of my shirts and they were pretty bright and ridiculous…leggings and my torn up jeans were my favs.
Favorite shoes? I have lived in Birkenstocks since I was 14…flat feet…
Favorite food? French fries with ranch (yuck!)
Favorite band? Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Amy Grant, Heart
High school hairstyle? Long with bangs, dyed reddish brown
What cologne / perfume did you wear? Electric Youth and Avon’s Summer of 1975
How old when you graduated? 17
Who do you think will play along and fill this out? YOU. 🙂 Hopefully. 🙂
What high school did you attend? RA Long High School
I know it seems harmless enough but it opened a chasm of old tapes, feelings and partial memories; kind of like a volcano of hurt.
Every time I have a hurt or a memory or dream I try to give to to God ASAP. I really do. My brain and body have lived through things they can’t forget. I can tell myself it isn’t happening anymore, it wasn’t as bad for me as other people I know, but even that seems like not honoring myself. There are people in my past that wanted me to be like their version of me and they refused to acknowledge that it is ok to not like a certain item, regardless of the great deal they got on a such a high quality item or how thankful they think I should be for whatever they are trying to make me want. On a normal day I can move on. When you are sick it is really hard to get out of your head…Although I tried. I texted a few young adults I know, how proud of them I am. I searched Facebook for people to pray for. I listed good things that had happened in the last few days. I told God how amazing and MAJESTIC He is…
When Karen got home, I lost it. I can’t cry right now. I have had a migraine for a week now and crying with a migraine really FUCKING hurts! (I am sorry there is just no other way to put it) I also knew that with this chasm of old feelings freshly exposed, my tears, if they started, would get out of control and 45 years of soul wrenching sobs would scare the other guests here and I know there are children here. I wont hurt a child, if I can help it…So I threw myself on the bed and surrounded myself with pillows and tried to breathe and let my body convulse. In case you didn’t know, twitching is an anxiety response. Xavier meowed to let me know he was near but he was going to stay out of my way and my beloved stood ready to help and then honored my request to ignore me because I just had to deal with myself. I could hear my family watching TV and playing together (they are awesome) while I thanked God for holding me. It is the biggest anxiety attack I have had in a long time. When it was quiet I realized the prayers, essential oils, my tincture and all the tools I have learned in therapy were not enough and I quietly asked my wife to go buy me a new battery for my vape pen and she did.
We ate a quiet dinner. I got all our medications and supplements in their sorters for the week and made the bed ready for collapsing in and told Karen whatever didn’t get done by 11:30 pm didn’t need to be done…Karen really enjoys Saturday Night Live…she even went outside with me, although she would never use cannabis for any reason and then she helped me walk back inside. I think she really enjoyed this part because I was giggling so much. Even though I was really intoxicated, I realized how much I have healed in the last few years. It has been a year since I vaped and I never giggled like that, since I was 20 and not using cannabis for medical reasons. 🙂
I slept so well! When I did wake up it wasn’t from a nightmare but God was whispering to me, “Here and Now.” I am still only at about 85% but if you made it this far I want to thank you. Not only did you bother to read this short novel, but I want to convey that with the bad there is positive if you really look for it. The hurts I have would not be so terrible if there weren’t so many good memories that make me miss the people that I can’t be with because I am not able to make healthy choices in their presence. Or if I didn’t respect that they have the right to be themselves and they don’t have to want to change to make me better. Being in an EPIC flare was filled with sweet moments with Jesus, talking about people I love and thanking Him for choosing to save me and love me. Even in all the turmoil, Karen and I have continued to support and praise each other for our successes while being authentic and honoring of each other…even though I can often hear venom in my voice which is only because I am suffering and that is what pain sounds like.
I still maintain that I am a blessed woman. I hope you know you are blessed too.
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
This article is based on my opinion as well as information I gained through web series I took part in in July of 2020 called LGBTQ+ Cultural Competency Workshop. This workshop was sponsored by Lambert House, Healing Bridge, PFLAG, PFLAG SW WA, Connect BG and Wonderfully Made. You may want skip this article if you don’t like people who might be different from you.
I owe someone an apology.
God please help me write this the way my heart is feeling it because for some reason it seems so hard.
Years ago I met a person who was trying to tell me something about themself, but I could not hear them. I still thought the world was very black and white. I am not sure where I learned this but it was a reality for me. Black and white thinking is not very inclusive.
The definition of inclusiveness is an aura or environment of letting people in and making them feel welcome.
An example of inclusiveness is when you make your home a comfortable place for all of your friends, family, guests and people you meet.
When we are thinking about whether or not you are practicing being inclusive we need to ask ourselves some questions:
What needs to be in place so that you are comfortable around someone?
Do you like to be ignored?
Do you enjoy when other’s people’s opinions are forced upon you because they can’t understand you?
These are universal questions. When you have the answer for yourself, the next step is to consider whether you are giving what you need to others in an open-handed way that allows them the freedom to express themselves. One thing, I think is universally true is that people like to be heard. They don’t like to be invited into someone’s space, and have no room to be themselves, be allowed to speak and be empathized with.
I know it the past I was not able to hear people who were trying to express that they had a burden and they wanted to share it with me. They were not asking me to hold it for them or take it from them, they just wanted to show it to me and know that they were safe with me to just sit in their honesty.
Do you know how I know this? As I have gotten older, I came to the realization that I had to know my identity; the one I was born with that maybe I didn’t know how to look at or foster in myself. This same identity that maybe no one else knew how to look at it or foster, or they just didn’t want to.
What I have come to understand is that my identity is mine and it includes many aspects: dreams, beliefs & philosophies, sex, gender identity, gender expression, orientation are only a few and each one has their own importance. These aspects can only be identified by me and no one else, just as I can only listen and hear what others are saying to me and choose what I will do with it.
Many years ago, I had a conversation with someone about their gender identity. I can’t seem to shake it. I think about it often so I decided to sit with what I know. What I came up with is this: I didn’t let them tell me their truth without interrupting them and defining them in my black and white knowledge.
I was wrong.
I am sorry.
I don’t want to do this anymore.
I know there are people, who will say: Summer, you are a Christian. How can you not tell people the truth?
My answer is this: Jesus is the truth and the life. It is His job to define my identity and salvation. It is His job to change people. It is not my job to tell people their truth. It is my job to love people with Christ’s love. If He thinks they are wrong, He will show them in His amazing way. But who am I to define someone else?
Now, before someone says: Summer, what about people who are breaking the law? I am not talking about that, I am talking about someone’s identity. If someone else’s identity is hurting me, than I might really have a problem within myself, not them. I know I used to have issues with other people’s identity and, for me, it was because I didn’t know my own identity because I had never thought to consider it and what makes me who I am.
For the last 20 years or so, I have looked at myself as honestly as I can. I have questioned myself. I have questioned God about myself. I am sure I will keep doing this for the rest of my life, since the bible says that if I believe Jesus is the Son of God, than He abides in me (1 John 4:15), and I want to know Jesus, and that is a relationship that was created before the foundation of the world (Romans 8:29) and it will definitely not end any time soon.
What have a learned? I have learned that I am always changing. I am always thinking and learning. To be the same would mean that I was stagnant and I never want to be that. The only thing that never changes is Christ’s love in me…but what that means to me and how I react to it that just keeps getting deeper and deeper…
Be as well as you can be, my friends…
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
Amen
The Lord is with you always.
Note: If you leave comments that are not open-minded questions or statements we can discuss in order to better understand each other, calmly and in a loving manner and you do not include your name and email address, to facilitate conversation, you will not see them posted on this blog. I welcome conversations and questions, but I will not be abused and I will not allow abusive language on my personal blog. If you read something you don’t like on my blog, please pray for me.
If you are living with a chronic physical or mental illness you understand the word: Trigger. It is important because once you know your triggers you can better protect yourself from episodes or flares. My main triggers are: angry people, fighting voices and being lied to, weather changes, smoke and mildew, nightshade fruits and vegetables, additives, food coloring and certain cooking oils. There are more but those are the biggest…oh the joys of chronic illness!
As I peruse certain social media sites and news broadcasts I think most of society has a few trigger words: Trump, Biden, Inslee and Racism are just a few.
On November 3, 2020 I posted on my personal wall on Facebook:
Trump is president until he is not….
I want to share something with you. I had an emotional break when Trump became president. I disassociated for I don’t know how long. The very sound of his voice or his name would cause me to have an anxiety attack. It wasn’t until the last year that I have been able to call him President Trump. You can judge me or listen to me…that is your choice…your opinion of me is none of my business….
Over the last few years, I have prayed for President Trump. I have watched him grow a little bit. I don’t hate him and I have found a few things to respect about him.
I am writing this for people who don’t know they can refuse to watch tv tonight. I am writing this for people who are so stressed out and on edge about what will happen. I am telling you, it doesn’t matter what is going to happen tonight. I am ready for a full-on fight to the Supreme Court and hoping for a peaceful ending.
No matter, who you are voting for, President Trump is president until he is not. Radical acceptance is a life-saver to me and I want to share it with you. We will not die and our lives will not change that much in the next few months, regardless of who wins.
So if he is not your choice, or even if he is, I want to tell you, you have a right to not turn the tv on. You can read a book, play with your kids, stream from your favorite service or watch DVDs..I am thinking Hulu is where I will be tonight and probably the next few nights because I am a hypersensitive person and I have to protect myself from the chaos of the American people who are acting out.
This post is not about who our president is. It is about choosing how much chaos I want to ingest. Stress kills people too. I think people have forgotten that not everything is about any one person, even if that person is the president or not. I am not advocating for any candidate. I am advocating for good mental health.
God bless you.
I am so surprised by some of the responses from people who did not understand that I was talking about my personal experience and mental health. All they wanted to do was use my wall to share their opinions on the candidates. This made me sad.
Are you Choosing to Stay Angry?
My good friend, Jamie, told me, not too long ago, that emotions are a choice. Now, I had come to understand that Joy and Peace are choices because the bible says so, often, to choose them but I hadn’t considered that all emotions are choices and we don’t have to be run by them. I have been trying to learn this well.
In the homea I was raised in, certain things were not my choice…So many things that I didn’t even realize many other choices were available to me as well. So I am trying to catch up. I have been told I am very immature for my age, by some people and very mature by others. I will be 45 on my next birthday and even though I don’t really mind what others think about me, unless they are working to have a healthy relationship with me, I do want to catch up to what I think a 45-year-old woman should be able to comprehend and process in a healthy manner.
I come from people who enjoy being angry. I am not sure they would agree with that statement but I know how long it has taken me to understand that I can choose to be angry or I can choose to be something else, and I want to celebrate that. Even my therapist was happy with me when I told her how I had chosen to not engage with someone for a fight, but remained calm and waited for them to make that choice too. When people are angry all the time, it is easy to fight. I can’t afford to fight.
When I allow myself to become angry, I am not in control of myself. I am not hearing or listening. I am just angry and sometimes it takes days for me to come back down. The result is to lose time where I could be at peace and productive; it is also a flare. When my emotional health is out of wack, it triggers fibromyalgia, who will engage psoriatic arthritis and lymphedema (who is always kind of a bitch anyway) and then the list of possible painful and potentially embarrassing symptoms fight over who will enter the door first…and they always stay too long. I look at this as a blessing because it forces me to choose peace, which is what my soul really wants.
Can you relate to any of this?
Peace is What Our Souls Crave the Most!
I am still telling myself: Trump is president until he is not…
That statement is not against him or for him, it is just a truth that I can find peace in because it is true. Even though the media is trying to engage us with rumors that Biden may have won the war over who presides in the White House, I am choosing to say: Trump is president until he is not….
I can’t do anything about our government, other than vote…and I did that. Worrying or being angry about the results will not make our government stronger and it sure wont make me stronger.
Our souls crave peace and some of us are so starved of it, we don’t know what it is anymore. Peace is that quiet, calmness that we can slip away to, inside ourselves. I have always enjoyed being alone, however I did not always have peace. In fact without my medication and mindfulness practices there is a screaming that overcomes me in my mind that distracts me and makes it hard for me to focus and make good choices. That screaming is deafening and aggravating and anxiety ridden. I have named her Anna and she is friends with Veda and those two do not make my life even slightly bearable. I named them because it is easier to love them if they have a name. I bet that sounds weird to you.
Love is the only thing that can overcome hate and anger. Acceptance of personal responsibility and rights is part of love that can be shared and given to ourselves.
How do you love yourself?
We Have a Choice
There is a camaraderie found in choosing a political party, not unlike choosing friends. But when our friends encourage us to hurt other people, would we continue to stay in that relationship? I don’t see a lot of wisdom in choosing one side. I value attributes of both sides, but I also abhor some of the behaviors I see on both sides. When I separate my emotions from what I see, it is easy for me to say that I am neither red or blue…I am not purple either…but more like a red, white and blue tie-dyed t-shirt with bursts of colors that dance together.
I am not setting any one person’s political choices on fire. I believe in the strength of the soldiers who have died to allow me the right to make my own choices without persecution. What I would like to do is shine a light on what is true. We have had 58 successful elections in our short life as the United States and only 45 presidents. I have never experienced the level of anger and hatred that I see now. Yes it was there, and it seems to have gotten more noticeable with every election since I can remember but not like now. Why is that?
My wife said something last night that caught my attention. I may be paraphrasing her badly but it was along the lines of this: We shouldn’t just be red or blue but we should be Red, White and Blue, the colors of our flag, because we are Americans before we are a political party. Karen and I don’t agree on everything politics but we do agree on this: We are Americans and we are lucky to be Americans and we should not be fighting each other.
So if you are reading this and you never knew it before: You have a choice. You have lots of choices. Don’t let the media or the masses stop you from hearing the quiet place inside you. If you don’t have a quiet place, please find someone to talk to. We were not made to fight. We were made to be in relationship with each other. We were made for peace.
It’s ok to take your finger off of the trigger.
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
I am so angry and sad right now. I am thankful too. Chronic Illness is a bitch. She is ruthless and steals good things from people. I am angry because too many people don’t have enough options. I am sad because people I love are losing things that are important to them. I am thankful because my wife made sure that I didn’t miss my anxiety meds yesterday.
For people who are healthy or maybe are able to ignore their ailments it may be hard to have compassion on people who can’t. Loss is part of life but when you are chronic it can be a daily thing. It is exhausting to have to try so hard every day to be productive when you spend your time maneuvering around your circumstances. Strangers can be heartless. Strangers can also be amazing. You never know which one you will meet. I suppose that is true for everyone but when you are chronic you are always worried and you don’t need to worry about if people are kind or not. You are busy worrying about how you measure up, will your body or mind embarrass you, will you be a burden, will your needs cause discomfort to someone. It is easier to stay home. What if you don’t have a home? What if you have an addiction that you haven’t learned how to control yet?
I am being so generic right now. It tears my heart out when I hear someone say anything about people who are hurting, whether they are chronic, homeless, an addict, or variant from what society deems is the norm. You don’t know the energy it may have taken for any person around you to be there. I am sure there are more generous people out there than the ones I see posting selfish, hateful things on social media…but the squeaky wheel sure can throw me into an episode…
This morning I have had news of losses for 2 of my beloved friends. You spend a lot of time mourning when you are chronic and not just for yourself but the people you love who are also chronic. It becomes like an old sweater you keep because you are used to it. Even if it is worn out and doesn’t look like it did when you first got it. It is familiar.
I bought this old sweater, in the picture, when I was 20. I have had it almost 25 years. I have gone through a lot with this sweater. At some point it became a comfort to me and I began sleeping with it wrapped around my neck. It reminded me of the purple panda bear someone had made for my younger sister when she was born. She didn’t like him but I fell in love with Concord Grape, that is what we named him because he was made of two shades of purple wool. I took him everywhere. As he fell apart, I would keep a piece of him in my pocket and run my fingers over the scratchy fibers. When I was about 10 years old, my mom threw him away. I was heart-broken. Nana bought me a new bear that Christmas. Theodore E Bear is great, but he was nothing like Concord Grape. As a young adult, I went through a lot of Motrin and aspirin and I was starting to have panic attacks in my sleep. Even then, Fibromyalgia, Generalized Anxiety Disorder and PTSD were starting to become something I couldn’t ignore. That sweater helped me a lot.
My sweater has traveled everywhere I have gone because when I forgot it, I couldn’t sleep. I remember the first time one of my nephews called it my blankie. I wanted to be a grown-up and grown-ups don’t have blankies…but he was right and even though I call it my sweater, it is, in fact my blankie. As it began falling apart, I would keep parts of my sweater in different bags so I could run my fingers over the scratchy wool and be comforted.
In 2014, I got the flu. It was worse than I had ever experienced and the cellulitis that I had been nursing without medical help for years went from a patch around most of my left ankle to my leg looking like I had dipped it in boiling bbq sauce up to my thigh. Karen, who was my good friend and business partner took me to the hospital where I stayed for 5 days getting very strong antibiotics. She never left my side. That was when I really began falling apart. I had to address my symptoms that had become impossible to ignore.
I don’t think I took my sweater with me to the hospital but I did take my best friend, who refused to leave my side. Karen even stayed with me when I came home because I could not care for my wounds. Somewhere in there we realized we were more than friends and were married. She is my favorite teddy bear now, but I still sleep with this sweater.
About a year ago I collected all the pieces of my sweater I could find and binge watched Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium and Little House on the Prairie while I sewed all the pieces together. I kept the collar and tags to remind me of when it was actually a sweater, but it looks more like a blankie than ever. It was healing to me to sew all the pieces together. I find crocheting and sewing by hand very calming to me and I have lovingly sewn many blankies and teddy bears back together for children I love, it was kind of like me doing something loving for myself. I had to be creative with some of the pieces. My sweater is no longer 100% wool. I used whatever thread I had on hand so now it is also acrylic, polyester and cotton and like my monthly therapy sessions, I have to spend time mending my sweater too.
A couple weeks ago, I was watching Red Table Talk while I repaired a few tears in my sweater and it occurred to me that I am like this sweater. Many of the original fibers are there but, much like the threads holding my sweater together, my lifestyle changes have not only changed the shape of my life but they hold me together.
My self-care includes daily anaerobic exercises, donning of heavy duty compression hose because of lymphedema in my left leg (some traumas don’t go away), flushing of my sinuses, specific amounts of water every day, and exclusion of foods I can’t eat anymore. I take medications and (lots of) supplements at 11 am, 2:30 pm, 5 pm and 11 pm. I use essential oils to help manage some symptoms. I use a 5:1 ratio tincture and topical ibuprofen and lots of distraction and mindfulness to manage pain. I also make time to mend my sweater while I watch Red Table Talk or listen to my favorite podcasts: Joyce Meyer Enjoying Everyday Life and Elevation with Steven Furtick. And I nap and pray as necessary.
I pray for myself but mostly for the people I know are suffering with their own chronic issues because it is very hard to never know what you will wake up to that day. You learn to be ridged with other people and fluid with yourself because it is the only way to survive. My body and mind create enough drama for me. I have nothing for people who let chaos reign in their life.
I was so angry when I started out. I asked Jesus to take the anger and help me mourn. I still feel so tired. I am always tired. But I am not angry anymore. I am still a little sad but my friends are powerful women and God has them. They have overcome more than this. When we are done on this earth we will be with Jesus and that is a comfort.
I implore you to turn the news off today. You wont miss anything important. Find a quiet moment and be thankful for your loved ones, your home, your job…whatever comes to mind. If you think of someone who you know is struggling, say a prayer or send good thoughts, whatever your belief allows. Find some peace. It is not outside yourself, I promise you.
Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven.
Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this:
Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world.
I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me.
I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
Dear Younger Me (and anyone who wants to read this),
I am writing this letter to you as a celebration. As I round the bend toward be alive 45 years, I realize how far I have come. I never thought I would live beyond 32 years old; I am not sure where I got that idea but it was something a 14-year-old version of myself believed. The last 13 years have been a bonus and that is how I look at every year now.
Although I know that I am not like everyone else, I do know that I am not totally original. I hope that if you’re reading this that you find hope for yourself here. I have been called many names, as you may know, our favorite is wife and Auntie Summer…some of the other names aren’t worth mentioning and a few of them haven’t happened yet.
We are also called:
Child of God
Wise Woman
Soul Searcher
Set Apart Because He are Holy
Ultimately Curious and Creative Because we are Made in His Image
You are loved by me. We are learning, to be still and know that God’s love is infinite and sustained by Him. We are learning, even as I write this, that you do not know all the answers but you will never find them by defining anyone but you. In reality, the answers you really want, will only be shown to you by God when you are able to hear Him.
Make choices
Not making a choice is still making a choice. When you let things happen without action, you have actually made the decision to not act. When you were a kid, this may have been someone else’s fault; as an adult your decisions are your responsibility. All choices have reaction some are no big deal, some will leave scars for the rest of your life…or someone else’s. Do not be complacent. God hates that.
Make choices that affect your future in a good way. Take the promotion in a new city. If you are meant to be in Longview again…it will happen…Don’t skip on a new adventure because you are afraid to go alone. Even the people closest to you, may not be there forever, no matter how much you want them to be, so don’t short-change yourself.
You will never measure up to any standards but God’s and He measures them out when He is ready and only when He is ready
You will never measure up, be enough, or be able save ANYONE. You are not like others because you were created to see the world and people differently. You were created to feel with others and hear what your spirit leads you to. You have been scared of this because it is confusing but I promise, if you lean into God, He is the best Father and teacher you could ever hope for. These truths are meant to lead to you prayer and love for God and those He has sent to you, however you will be blessed too.
Our standards do not take away anything, from anyone else. If other people think that our truth takes something away from them, they should work on that without us to interrupt them. On the flip-side, other people’s standards are great for them. If other people can trust that we accept that each of us must live our own truth, then we can be friends as long as they are peace-seeking people…
Failure is not judgement it is a learning experience
Your inability to reach other people’s standards or even your own, is not failure. At your age, (I am considering my 17-year-old self) you may think this is criticism because that is what you know. What it actually is, if you can hear me, is the ticket to your freedom. When you embrace that you will never be what your family or friends want you to be, or that you will never be what the media or what you imagined was perfect, you can drop the veils you surround yourself with. You can stop working so hard to make others happy. You can let the words that you choose to accept from yourself and from others, that burn your soul, become like water on a duck’s back. You can become who God made you to be. Just yourself.
Forgiveness and healing are 2 different things with their own process and timeline
You can forgive. I know you think it is useless because when you forgive the people that hurt you, they just do it again but that is because you don’t understand that forgiveness does not change other people; it only changes you. You can start letting go of the old sadness and anger…it will take you a long time, so why not start now…I am still working on it. You will have more painful times but it is ok to give yourself time to feel your feelings and learn from them. When you hold the pain forever it becomes toxic and makes you bitter and sick. Just remember God never gave anyone the right to hurt you…but He loves the people that hurt you too…
Let go of people who do not help you feel loved
You can choose who you spend your time with. Let the people who do not edify or lift you up, go…even those that you rely the most on. If they really love you, they will fight to come back. They will learn how you need to be loved and prove themselves worthy. It may take years for them to understand, heal, forgive, stop being afraid, and understand what you need, but they will succeed at being better so you can feel safe around them when they are ready to build a relationship with the actual you. Yes, you are hyper-sensitive, it might be easier to love other people who are not easily triggered by bright lights, sounds, smells and emotions but you are worthy of people that don’t take advantage of that. You can’t make people love you, regardless of how hard you try and conforming does not feed your spirit.
Trauma is relative to each person. Trauma is not always planned out acts. When you are hyper-sensitive what hurts you might not hurt other people. Also other people may not realize they have their own trauma that needs healing. “We are all equally scary people,” as Karen says. If you can’t stop bleeding all over someone, take care of your wounds before you infect someone else. When you feel like you can try with someone again, be prepared to be rejected, but hope for the best. God is healing them too and their process may be different then yours.
Your dreams will come true
Although it has been drilled into your head that you are too fat or too something…to have the life you want, you must try to break those bad tapes. They are lies. Everything you really want will come true. The good and the bad things you want will happen because you are a spiritually powerful woman and God honors our words. Foster the good dreams and protect yourself from situations that make you want the bad. Your dreams will not look like what you thought they would…but God will give you every desire of your heart in His time and own way. When you feel hopeless, think about this until you can push forward again.
Look for people who want to hear you and don’t ignore you
Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself. You will have to do this often. Standing up for yourself doesn’t have to mean fighting with people who like to fight. Sometimes standing up for yourself is walking away and letting people fight without you until they are ready to stop. It doesn’t make you wrong to decide to choose peace. It doesn’t mean they are bad or take anything away from them, except your presence and permission to be abused by their choices, or allowing them to be abused by your anger and resentment. They may not be trying to hurt you. They may not understand what you need. They may not be able to hear you when you ask for peace. They may not even know they are fighting and competing all the time. If they want to join you, they will change. It is ok to let people go if they are never ready to choose peace. You are not alone. God is with you always and He will never leave…accept for that week after you told Him to, “Fuck off.” If you haven’t got there yet, don’t worry, before the words can come out of your mouth, He will be back…that was the loneliest week of our life….but He is always present.
Fight for yourself
Advocate for yourself. Don’t be afraid to go to doctors, specialists and therapists. If they don’t hear you or if they are wrong, make sure you are heard. Remember you are different. Teach them that even though you don’t know how to fight for you, you are willing to learn. If they can’t answer your questions, find someone who can. Don’t be afraid of the pills that you need to be healthy. Learn about them. Learn what you can do to not need some of them. Be patient with yourself, like no one has been with you. It will take time but you will find the exercise, medications, foods and self-care it takes to quiet the storm that is inside you…some of your issues are related to your mental and physical health. It is not your fault. It just is part of your path.
Learn about yourself – Gender, Orientation and Presentation are only a small but important part of our identity
Your gender, sexuality and identity are just fine. It is not bad to talk about them or seek out your truth. Even though you have been taught (or not taught) otherwise, you are beautiful just the way you are, God knows you. He loves you. God made the real you. So here are our truths: Our gender is Cis Female. Our sexuality is Demisexual. Our mind is Androgynous but we enjoy representing ourself as Feminine.
Cisgender is a term for people whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth. For example, someone who identifies as a woman and was assigned female…Our pronouns are she and her.
Demisexuality is a sexual orientation where people only experience sexual attraction to people that they have close emotional connections with. In other words, demisexual people only experience sexual attraction after an emotional bond has formed...You and I do not take sex lightly however gender doesn’t seem to be a defining factor for us.
Androgynous has characteristics of bole male and female, so it is generally of indeterminate sex.
Feminine is having qualities or an appearance traditionally associated with women, especially delicacy and prettiness.
Marriage Rocks!
Wait for a partner that wants us and loves us as much as we love them. If we love them or want them more than they love or want us, we will not be able to make up for their lack. Love and want are not related to need. Need is a misrepresentation of love which is what we really want. Remember…we will never measure up to anyone else’s standards…so wait for the one who loves us as close to the example that Jesus has shared with us. You wont even start to understand this until you are at least 25…that is ok. Nana was right when she taught us to not waste our affections…Be patient and work hard on yourself and don’t worry about being alone forever. You wont realize that that crazy friend that you have trusted and loved for 10 years is the one God made for you until we are 38…and even then you wont totally get it…
You will have all the time God wants you to have so don’t be in a hurry
Here is a mind-blower! Your time is not God’s time. God’s time is not limited to our understanding. If you are tired. Stop and rest. If you wear yourself out, who will be you? Let me tell you…I didn’t focus on you when I was young and had more energy and less pain. At this point, sometimes it takes all the energy I have to accomplish is our self-care. I am not talking about make up and hair…although we do enjoy trying new styles…What you look like on the outside is nothing if you don’t have peace and love for yourself. Get that couch off your back. Find time to think and feel. Do what makes you happy. Dig in the dirt. Read. Learn…this is your favorite thing to do!
Your feelings are telling you about yourself
Accept your feelings so you can heal, grow and love yourself. You don’t hate people; you hate yourself. You want to die, but you haven’t learned how to live. Spend more time learning how to love yourself so you don’t fall back on manipulating people.
It’s ok if people don’t answer your letters, if you want to write them, do it.
If you do nice things for people, do it because you want to. If you don’t want to. Don’t.
If you want to spend time with people, tell them, instead of assuming they should know when maybe they don’t.
Say hi to people. Give honest compliments.
No one owes you a thing but if they don’t treat you the way you want to be treated, it might be because they are seeing how you treat yourself or their way is the best they know. If their way is not helping you, then decide how much energy you want to give them. Give yourself the love you need…lean into God. He knows what He has planned for you.
Judgement is a double-edged sword
Accept that you are just as guilty as you judge others to be. Every time you hurt, be honest about the situation. Did you manipulate them? Did you lie to them? Did you ignore them? Maybe your actions require repentance…which means confession, forgiveness and change on your part. You can’t change anyone but yourself…If you changed and they didn’t then decide how much of your time you will keep giving them.
Keep asking questions
I have noticed that when I share my viewpoints, sometimes, people respond as though I am challenging them to a fight. I have been asking God how I can better communicate with people. I want people to understand that most of what I say is my opinion. I stand by my opinions but I am also fluid with them once I have heard enough evidence to change them. When I voice my opinions or share my stories and experiences, I am not looking for a fight, but a discussion. Discussion allow for communication, understanding and growth. Fighting allows for noise and pain. I am trying to learn out how to speak to people so they know, I am still in the process of learning not to judge them or fight with them. When I share my thoughts and experiences it is for the purpose of growth on my part, and their part, if they are interested. Hearing people tell me no, or that I am wrong in a way that is kind and direct is welcome. I am waiting on God for His answer…it will take as much time as it takes for me to be able to hear the answer…but I have chewed on questions for years without an answer before. If I die before I hear Him…it wont be an issue anymore. 🙂
Keep learning
With all the interesting viewpoints, facts and feelings there are to experience enjoy your favorite thing. Keep learning. Keep growing. Keep loving and make sure you love yourself first. It isn’t selfish, like we were taught. The extra love will overflow on the right people.
I am so thankful to God for coming to us when we were a little girl. I remember that day so clearly. We were 5-years-old, I was playing in my backyard, under the apple trees and suddenly we weren’t alone anymore. It was just that simple. We were baptized 2 years later because the church we went to needed to feel certain that we knew what we were talking about. Church has been a part of our life for as long as I can remember, but part of the problem is that I don’t remember everything. Trauma can do that to a person. At this point we don’t go to church because I am selfish with my Sundays. I also know distinctly that a church that is labeled affirming, is made of people who don’t know what to do with me and my wife. Change is a process. I know that we will be ready to try other churches eventually. We all have our process, don’t we?
Wherever you are in your process, do what you can to grow and enjoy life. Love yourself and God will love others through you. I wish you well.
Please wait...
