Twenty Fifteen

Fourteen days into the new year and I have said more than once…’this year is not starting off very well!’

My husband and I had a nice Anniversary getaway over the New Year Holiday, but when we returned home things began to take a challenging turn for me.

Before we got back home, child #5 of 7 informed us that she had failed to make arrangements for her student loans for the Spring Semester, and that without our help she was going to be forced to drop out of college.  If only she had told us before we went on vacation we could have used our saved vacation $ to help her!  Tuition money for higher education is NOT part of our monthly budget, and we have explain this to all of our seven children. 

On Jan 6th I began a bout of vertigo, which I am still dealing with.  It is a week later and although the symptoms are not as severe as they were, they are still disabling.  The onset happened at work and all I could do that day was sit in the bathroom floor with my eyes covered and my head down, as fellow employees entered and exited asking if they could help in any way.  I was mortified, but I could not move for fear of throwing up.  My husband was working out of town, and it took him over and hour to come and pick me up from work.  Once he got me home I sleep for over 20 hours, and I was able to go to the doctor the next day.  The symptoms still come and go and last anywhere from 30 minutes to 6 hours, but I feel I am getting a little better every day.

Our main heating unit on our house has gone out again.  We had an issue with this unit last winter and spent over $1000.00 on the repair.  Who knows what the diagnosis will be this time, we are still waiting on a technician to inspect the unit.                                  










Our old cat Jack, who is about 10 years old, is not acting well.  It has been colder than usual so I am hoping that it’s just the cold weather that has him down and out these days.

I found out just last week that a good friend of mine’s son has been struggling with addiction issues for quite some time, and she just now shared that with me.  I have always been open and honest and shared with her about my son’s addiction problems, but for whatever reason she did not feel she could share with me.  This has made me very sad these last few days for many reasons.

So needless to say, I have had a few challenges early on this year so far.  But along with all of that I have many other great and wonderful things going on as well.  My son is still doing well living at a sober living house, he has been there almost 120 days.  He was able to make arrangements on his own for transportation to his probation meeting this month which was greatly appreciated by me.  My husband is doing well physically and emotionally with his work, and figuring out his diabetes diagnosis and Metformin.  And we were able to take our new baby to the beach for the first time, which was a lot of fun for all of us!

Probably the one thing that has really challenged me the most this New Year is coming to terms with my NON ADDICT child #3- issues with me.  I discovered that even though she is NOT an addict I must use my ALANON skills with her also.  In fact I have decided that I need to use my ALANON skills with every aspect of my life and relationships.  For whatever reason, stuff happens, people disappoint, and I make mistakes, and I have got to learn to let go of what I have NO control over.  A simple miscommunication that did not cause any big issue or problem in my mind, became a huge hurdle for this child, and it was all my fault.  Over and over again I had to hear about it Christmas Day, and then when I thought it was over and all forgiven, NO one last punishment just had to be delivered.  This final punishment was delivered last Sunday just as I was preparing to watch some of the Golden Globes (aka The Tina & Amy show).  To add insult to injury almost every winner made some wonderful and loving comment about their parents in their acceptance speeches, especially the guy who won for “Boyhood”, he said it best!  And Bless his heart, he will never know how much I appreciated his words!

He gave credit where it was due before thanking his parents “who gave me so much love and support.” Finally, “I want to dedicate this to parents that are evolving everywhere and families that are just passing through this world and doing their best.”  Thank you Mr. Linklater. Thank you!
I needed that!
Happy New Year Everyone!