Keeping the Faith

Right now life is feeling "prickly". There are many things that seem to be poking at me trying to drag me down. I've had a rough couple of days at work; I hurt my back badly over the weekend and am in almost constant pain; my husband has been struggling with his health since last fall; my son is dealing with food allergies that make it difficult to feed our family; I drive by a house twice a day that is a constant reminder of hurt feelings which dredges up old hurt feelings from many past relationships; I've had to work overtime to get things done at work which is keeping me away from my family at home, and when I get home I'm too tired to do much of anything...

It just feels like things are piling up and trying to drag my mental attitude into negativity. So I'm working harder and harder to pick out things to keep my thoughts positive. I know that these rough days at work are temporary - this task is almost complete and I'll be able to move on to new things; I know that my back is improving and I'm seeking treatment for that to help (my sons assisted with massages last night!); my husband's health is trending towards improvement; we're exploring acupuncture as a treatment for our son's food allergies; and I'm trying to focus on the many wonderful relationships that I have now.

I drive 45 minutes to and from work. I don't like the fact that it adds to the length of my work day, but there are so many things that I enjoy about my drive. I watch the flowers change in one spectacular garden on my route; I watch for the many beautiful horses, big and small; I check the pond to see if my heron is there (one day had to slow way down to miss hitting a huge snapping turtle crossing the road); I observe the structure and details of the barns as the sun hits them; I wave at the crossing guard by the school I pass; I look for deer in two spots; and I enjoy my music!

I figure the harder things stack up against me and try to pull my attitude down, the harder I'd better work to keep it positive. I'm tired. I'm hopeful that things will turn around again by the end of this week! But if it doesn't, I will keep working hard to stay positive.