IC My New Life

It was Good Friday. I slept form about 1:30 to 6:00 am. I enjoyed getting up early, reading my Bible, and being awake for the sunrise. I thought of the events that Jesus went through on Good Friday and I felt thankful for all that He did on the cross. I prayed a lot and I felt very close to God.

Our Pastor called us every day during the week, leading up to Easter. He gave us an overview of everything that happened on each day and reminded us of scripture to read, so that we could be preparing our hearts for the celebration of Easter. I enjoyed the reminder and it encouraged me to be in the word studying the days before the Resurrection.

Since I had the day off, I helped the Easter bunny prepare a basket for my daughter, I spent some time outside weeding some potted plants, and I even did some Spring cleaning…I dusted, yes dusted! I did a few other things around the house and completely over did it.  About 1:30, I took a nap. It was a good, long nap, lasting about an hour and a half.

I know “they say” to only nap for about twenty minutes, but “they” do not have my Interstitial Cystitis, Fibromyalgia, IBS, Insomnia, Restless Leg, Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, Vulvodynia, Sciatica, chronic pain, stricken body. So I sleep when I can, for as long as I can. For me, a nap is not a luxury, but an necessity! Whew, thank you for letting me vent! I feel better now!!

Later that evening, I prepared to meet some friends at church for The Lord’s Supper. On Good Friday we have a special service. Each family is asked to come in together and first prepare their hearts with prayer in one room, before heading to the sanctuary to partake of The Lord’s Supper. In my case, none of my family members go to church with me, so I met some of my church family there and we went in together.

At the exit there is a box, surrounded by pieces of paper and pens. We are encouraged to write down a sin or a struggle that we want to turn over to The Lord. It is symbolic of giving up the sin or burden and trusting that God will help you overcome it. I think it is my most favorite part of this unique service.

Most of us have something in our lives that is weighing on us heavily. We may even pray about it and ask others to pray for us. But there is something so powerful to me about writing it down, putting it in a box and walking away from it in a prayerful, thankful state of mind that really gives me peace!

You can make a prayer box to keep at home. Any box will do. The idea is to think through what you are troubled about and write those things down and then...Put them in the box…And Let Them Go!

It is showing God you Trust Him and you know He will take care of the situation. The results may not be exactly how we think He should handle it, but it will be the best for us, because He knows what we need and He always cares for us.

I have had insomnia for over twenty years. Ambien worked great for me for a few years. Lately nothing seems to work and I am a desperate woman. Sleep brings healing and healing is a precious commodity in my book.

My mind races when I try to fall asleep. No matter what is going on in my life, even if nothing major is going on, my mind has…well, a mind of it’s own.

I have tried a lot of different things over the years to lull my mind into a peaceful night of sleep. I have given up caffeine completely, I have used an app on my tablet to provide white noise, I always use a sleep mask, I have tried gentle stretches, melatonin and prayer.

About three weeks ago, I decided to quit taking Ambien because it didn’t seem to be working for me anymore. I am also trying to quit taking so many medications. I figure my body needs a break!

One night recently, I decided to try a new Melatonin (1^st mistake) and not take any others medications to help me sleep, including Ropinirole that I take for restless leg syndrome (second mistake), then I drank two cups of Chamomile tea (third mistake). I thought if I drank two cups that I would be more likely to get drowsy.  Well it worked, I was drowsy and I fell asleep easily.

My night started off with a nightmare. I had to make myself wake up to quit dreaming this bad dream. At this time I had only had a couple hours of sleep. I was able to get back to sleep only to have a weird dream and wake up needing to go to the bathroom (go figure). After a couple more hours of sleep, I got up again and felt pretty good.

After doing some things around the house for a couple of hours, it hit me like a ton of bricks…extreme nausea!!! The kind that makes you think crazy thoughts and have feelings of hopelessness. Determined not to take any kind of medication, I asked my cat to make me a cup of peppermint tea. Good idea, but she did not move a muscle in her body, and did nothing in an effort to help, lol.

I finally felt brave enough to try to make it to the kitchen to make it myself. I did, but found that I was too nauseated to drink it. I took a Zofran and prayed a sincere prayer that God would have mercy on me and He did!! I was able to fall back asleep for a long nap.

When I woke up I felt dramatically better, and felt ever so grateful to God for answering my prayer. I also felt frustrated that the new Melatonin did not work for me.

Since then I have resolved to the fact, that if I wake up early in the morning, I will stay awake as long as I can and try to accomplish a few things such as reading or checking my email, before I go back to bed for a much needed nap. Prior to this I would wake up around 5:00, take something to try to get back to sleep, toss and turn for a couple of hours and finally get a few more hours of sleep.

I have felt better about my sleep schedule. Maybe I feel better because I’m not taking as many medications or maybe it is the fact that I have tried to just give in to what my body wants. No matter how much or how little sleep I get, I believe that Sleep Is A Beautiful Thing!!

http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-tools-tips/healthy-sleep-tips

My Pastor has recently started asking church members to get more involved in helping those in need.  There is a  sweet elderly lady, in our church, that is going to have surgery this month and he asked her what the church could do to help her. She said that she needed a handrail repaired and some bushes trimmed.

There were a total of seven people that showed up at her house to help…wonderful!! So I had this great idea. There is a good friend of mind that goes to our church that recently had surgery. I told the Pastor that he should call him and see what he needs.

He suggested that I call him He says he always tells our Pastor, Dustin, that he is fine and doesn’t need anything.  I said that I would call him. When I did he told me the same thing.  I suggested that I was sure he would like for someone to bring he some food. He said, “Well I do like fried chicken.”  Sounded like a plan.

I told Dustin that he would like a fried chicken dinner and I also knew that he had just bought some bookcases that needed to be put together.  I was sure that Dustin and some other church members could handle all of that easily.

However, being the smart man that he is, Dustin had different plans.  He called me and asked if my small group that I lead on Sunday nights could cook Wayne fried some fried chicken and take it to him. I said “Cook??!!” I don’t think so, but we can take him some food. I am not a big fan of cooking!

I called a couple of the people in my small group. I was not able to get in touch with any of them. I was discouraged and I considered just doing it by myself. Before I left work, one of my group members, Pam, called, and we made plans for her to pick up the chicken. Since I was just leaving work, I would meet her at the church and we could ride together.

She pulled into the church parking lot about a minute after I did…good timing! She hopped in my car and we made our way to Wayne’s house.  If you think I live way out in the country, then you should see where Wayne lives!  Pam and I had a chance to chat for a while on the way.

I was very tired and I knew that I had used up all of my spoons for the day…see The Spoon Theory written by Christine Miserandino http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/, if you don’t know what I mean.

But since Wayne is one of my best friends, I wanted to help him. The next day I paid for over doing it, but I also received a blessing from helping my friend Wayne and getting to know my friend, Pam, a little bit better. So it was a win, win situation for me. And Wayne got a chicken dinner. The little saying came to my mind “Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner.”

About a year ago, I talked to my Pastor about wanting to form a group to help others. I had no idea how I could combine the needs of those in our church with the willingness of others to help. Since then, the Lord has led me to lead a small Bible study group in our church.  I still couldn’t figure out how to fulfill those needs. Now I know. You just do it!! You call someone and say what do you need and if they give you the common response of “Nothing, I’m fine,” then you suggest bringing them food or whatever you think may help them.

It is that easy, but it is  that hard too! Let me explain.  It takes planning, effort, time and energy.  All of the resources needed for each of these tasks are limited by my daily lack of stamina, since i have been diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis, and other related conditions. But each time I do something for others, I trust in the Lord and I am blessed!!  I definitely feel like it is worth all of the effort!

If someone tells me that they have prayed for me, I think I will have a huge blessing that day or a bad day that could have been worse without that thoughtful prayer. Either way I feel like I have to hold on to my hat!

After volunteering at the church and going to Bible Study, a friend from church, and I went to visit a church member that lives in a assisted living home. I used to sit with this particular lady and her husband at church.

Her husband passed away several years ago and then she went to live in this very nice facility that is more like an apartment complex. I am ashamed to say that this is the first time I have visited her there, but I have often thought of her and wanted to go see her.

There is another lady in our church that visits her regularly and she requested prayer for her. Then I heard her talking to my friend about her and I said that I need to go see her. My friend, Mary, volunteered to go with me. That was exactly the motivation I needed. I’m glad I didn’t attempt this feat by myself.

When we walked to the front door we had to ring a bell to be let in. The dining and living area was very large and had beautiful new carpet on the floor. The first thing Mary did was tell me that another lady from our church worked in the Hair Salon in the home. We spoke to her and she gracefully offered to take us to the room of the elderly lady resident.

She introduced us, as if for the first time. However, I knew her and Mary had visited her before, but she did not recognize us at all. She sat on the bed and then laid across the bed. We both tried to talk to her, but she was very hard of hearing and she just seemed to want us to leave her alone.

I told Mary that it was sad to see her (or anyone) like that. Maybe she was having a bad day or didn’t feel good. Hopefully we can go visit her again soon.

As we were leaving Mary told me that she had prayed for me that morning. I sincerely thanked her and went on to work. It bothered me to think about the elderly lady we visited. Who knows we all may end up in some type of assisted living, especially if we have medical issues. I was depressed at the thought of it all.

After work, I went to the pharmacy to pick up three of my medications. Normally, all three would be about $6.00. When the cashier told me $26.00, I asked which one cost the most and decided not to get it this time. I was very frustrated, not that the amount was outrageously extreme, but it was the whole situation.

It was the unexpected surprise of my prescriptions being four times the amount that I was used to. It was the fact that I needed something and it didn’t fit into my already tight budget. It was also because my body now limits me on how many hours I can work, thus limiting my income. It was the fact that I already have medical bills that I am paying on monthly now. I could go on and on. But I was mainly frustrated at having Interstitial Cystitis and all the other related issues that limit me!

Oh, did I mention that I haven’t sleep good all week because of my Restless Leg Syndrome? One night I couldn’t get to sleep until 5:00 am.!! The next day I came home from work and took a three hour nap. Most of my sleep is in two to three hour blocks. That alone is enough to drive me crazy!

The next day when I snapped out of my funk, I realized that I could be much worse off than I am. I began to feel blessed and thankful. What if Mary had not prayed for me that day? My day may have been much worse! I believe that people praying for me all my life has helped me tremendously.

Someone praying for me is about the nicest gift anyone can give me. Thank you to everyone who has ever prayed for me. If you haven’t ever prayed for me…why not??!! Consider talking to God about me and lifting me up next time you say your prayers and know that I am already praying for you, if you read my blog.

The next time someone tells you that they prayed for you hold on to your hat for a blessing. It may not be as soon as you like or how you would expect it, but it will happen!

Isn’t she cute? Just don’t make her mad!

Something awoke the raging inferno inside my body, also known as my bladder. For a while now, my bladder has been more of a constant, burning and nagging pain, reminding me of who is still in charge, but not screaming the loudest on the pain scale.

She has been more of a persistent reminder that I need to watch what I eat, drink and do. A constant indication of how I am supposed to live my life…centered around her of course! But I have much relief from the nonstop bladder pain that I had at the onset of my diagnosis of Interstitial Cystitis (IC).  Praise The Lord!!!

Whatever it was that made her mad, soon became the obsession of my thoughts. What had I done to make her angry? Was it something I ate…maybe that lemon I had in my water?? Maybe lemon irritates my bladder, while it does not bother most, because it is alkaline. Maybe it was those two or three extra yoga stretches that I tried all in one day. Maybe, Maybe, Maybe. Maybe she just wanted to remind me who is the boss! Maybe I’m just losing my mind!!

When she is upset, she also brings along her friend “lower back pain.” This is a different kind of back pain other than my usual chronic back pain. This is a more severe pain. I thought I was in a “small” IC  flare…if there is such a thing?! However, despite the pain, I felt pretty good. I didn’t have the body aches and fever this time, so I’m just trying to take it easy as much as possible.

Sitting has always made my bladder pain hurt more, but most of what I do at work, volunteering at the church, teaching Bible study, etc. requires me to sit. So I try to stand and walk as much as possible, but it is not always easy.  Trying to figure out what caused her to flare up can be as frustrating and draining as the pain itself.  So I attempt to keep my mind focused on other things for the most part. I may never completely understand my bladder, and that is okay!

Dwelling on a problem is not going to make it better. In most cases it just causes stress and stress causes my body more trouble. Instead I am going to trust that The Lord is not punishing me. He is preparing me to trust His plan, not my pain.

My new year started off in a very uneventful way. On New Year’s Eve, I had to go into work early at the Computer Store. My boss bought us a nice lunch and I didn’t work hard at all. It was a great way to end 2014.

The night of New Year’s Eve I came home pretty tired. I watched some of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, then I went to sleep.  You know a little Nick Jonas and One Direction.  Who knew that I would enjoy either one of them performing, but I did.  I didn’t see the ball drop though. Pretty exciting, huh? 

I was worn out.  I was off work from Tuesday, December 23rd through Sunday December 28th.  When I did finally go back to work I felt good.  So good, in fact, that I went and bought groceries after work.  Then I was completely drained of energy and strength.  It took me a few days to get over that.

About 1:30 on New Year’s day,  I was awakened to the sound of what I thought was screaming and a gun shot. I thought someone had been shot!  It took me a few minutes to gather my bearings and realize that it was “just” fireworks. However, these fireworks lasted until 3:00…not cool. I don’t blame my neighbor for me waking up, because I usually wake up for a couple of hours during the night, but it didn’t thrill me either.

My fibromyalgia has been been bothering me a lot lately. My muscles are very sore. You know how your skin feels when it is sun burnt very badly? Well, that is how my muscles feel. Sensitive to the touch, burning, and deep down pain.  I try to spend a few minutes every day releasing my muscle trigger points, but it is very hard to do on yourself and it is very painful.  As my physical therapist used to say tell me, your muscles are crunchy. Muscles are not supposed to be crunchy!  She would do skin rolling to relieve the pain, but the treatment itself is painful.  It is so painful, that I almost passed out one time while she was doing it. See my blog post called “Attitude” http://www.bb65ichope.blogspot.com/2013/05/attitude.html

I keep thinking that if I could just get rid of “fill in the blank,” then I would feel a whole lot better. This week it is the fibro pain and exhaustion. A couple of weeks ago it was IBS and severe nausea and weakness.

I am happy to report that a couple of months ago, the main thing I wanted was relief from the sciatica. Since I started going to a chiropractor, my lower back pain and sciatica have gone down of the pain scale part of the time!! Victory!!! 

But the truth of the matter is, I want relief from whatever is screaming loudest on any given day.  It always includes some Interstitial Cystitis pain and may also include a combination of other things.The sciatica had become a constant pain, so I praise the Lord for the relief that I have received!!

Despite my aching body I have decided to make some new year’s  resolutions. First and foremost I want to study my Bible more deeply and prepare myself for relational conversations that lead to Christ.   I also want to commit to writing more.  I think all of these goals are doable. I can study the Bible daily and more intensely on the weekends. Starting each day with a prayer that I will use the situations that God puts me in to tell the story of Jesus and show His love.  I plan to set aside a few minutes each morning to work on some on my writing.  I believe if I set small, realistic daily targets, then I can achieve them and celebrate small triumphs each day…It seems like a win, win plan…Victory!!!

I have come to expect a dreary, cloudy day on my birthday each year….(see last year’s birthday post http://www.bb65ichope.blogspot.com/2013/12/another-year-wiser.html).If I expect it, then I am not as disappointed when it happens. But cloudy winter days still depress me to some degree, no matter what I do.  Combine that with a woman going through menopause, living with chronic pain, who has interstitial cystitis, pelvic floor dysfunction and fibromyalgia, etc., etc…it could be a recipe for an extreme case of the blahs.

But I know the Lord is not finished with me yet. He has plans for me even when my body fails me. Well for one thing you are reading my blog right now. I feel lead to continue to write and hopefully inspire others.

This birthday was no different, it was a drab December day. But my husband made it very special for me. He told me he was going to take the day off from work and take me to a close by larger city to shop!! My birthday was on a Friday and I was so excited all week long!!

I desperately needed clothes because I have gained so much weight the year. I told my best-friend that every couple of months when I go to the doctor I have gained five pounds…she told me to quit going to the doctor…ha, ha good advice!

The morning of my birthday I was so happy that I was taking pictures of myself…yes, birthday selfies!

Then we made the hour long trip to the city and ate lunch at Panera Bread. The food was yummy and we bought cinnamon rolls for the next day. Mine didn’t make it to the next day. I ate that whole thing that night. It was delicious!!

Then he took me to the store where I wanted to shop. I made sure it was not in a mall. This would save a lot of my energy because I wouldn’t have to walk as far. I also wanted to select a store that we also have in our hometown, in case I have any problems and need to take something back. Since traveling is not always easy for me I tried to keep it simple. Shopping is not easy either, but since I had the whole day off, it worked out great!

We pulled up in front of the store and he said I will check on you in about thirty minutes. I said you are going to check on me?? What I really wanted to know was when he was going to give me my birthday loot!! ☃ Then he handed me a generous amount of money. I went straight to work. Starting at the front of the store on one side and making my way back to the clearance racks near the back.

I needed larger, loose fitting clothes. On days when my fibromyalgia is flaring, I would love to stay home in my jammies, so I try to find clothes that are soft and comfortable.

I had a blast trying on all those clothes. Then I was able to buy several new shirts to layer with a couple of open drape cardigans and one pair of pants. I thoroughly enjoyed my birthday thanks to my husband. I had a good day and even have enough money left over to buy some shoes after Christmas when everything is on clearance and I have another good day.

Me and my crazy self-ie!

This year I had a good birthday that will be a unique memory for me, on a day that could have been very gloomy for me for many different reasons. I am thankful that I have a husband that always looks out for me and knows how important birthdays are to me. So I think I  keep him and I will hold at forty-nine!!

My husband and I had the privilege of babysitting my Pastor’s dog while he and his family visited their kin folks. When they brought her to our house, they talked about her habits, likes and dislikes. We listened intently to learn as much as we could about this gentle giant that would end up staying in the house with us for most of the entire week.

One thing that stood out in the conversation to me was how, Amy, the Pastor’s kindhearted wife described how much joy Dixie had brought into their lives. She is clearly a family pet and each one of them adores playing with, and loving on, this animal shelter rescue dog.

Dixie has had a hard life until now, but boy has her life changed! She now enjoys peanut butter, doggie treats, toys and manicures. She now has the love and affection of four people who have spoiled her rotten!

She is a well behaved dog, but she loves to chew. We really had to keep our attention focused on her while she was in the house especially when the cats were around. We had to make sure she had food, water, exercise, and a bone or toy to chew most of the time. She consumed time and energy, but she brought a lot of happiness too.

It reminds me of my Bible Study group that I lead. It takes time to prepare, study and lead the group, but it has also been such a blessing in my life. I decided to lead the small group after attending discipleship training at my church this summer. It is hard work for me especially since I have Interstitial Cystitis, Fibromyalgia, etc.  I just don’t have the energy of a “normal person.”

I knew it would be a huge responsibility that requires a lot of my time and energy, but I felt the Lord was leading me to do this. We started meeting at my house in October.  A few weeks ago we met at the church to accommodate some of the people who live closer to the church. We watched the “My Hope 2014 with Billy Graham” DVD.

This powerful film dares to talk about death. It describes how the lives of two people who had their lives turned upside down in the blink of an eye. It explains how when tragedy comes into our lives we feel alienated and lonely, but we can start a new life with a clean slate.

I think of God as a gentle giant. He is a Powerful God, our Everlasting Father, the One who created us and everything else that has ever existed, but yet He cares about us, has a plan for each of us, and wants us to live our lives to the fullest.  He wants us to spend eternity with Him as this film explained.

In this movie, Billy Graham talks about going through sickness and staying in the hospital, in his latter years, filled with a peace that is always with him. The peace of knowing that when he dies, he is going to heaven. He states that everyone can have this peace by accepting Christ into their lives. We are all going to die one day; the question is “Are you ready?!”

I have provided a link to the movie called “Heaven.”  It is a well written, captivating story about dramatic changes in our lives and how our response to these changes can make all the difference in the world.  Please take a few minutes to watch this film and let me know what you think.

https://myhopewithbillygraham.org/program/heaven/

 My family has been through a very difficult season in our lives. In October my husband’s sister died. About two weeks ago his brother’s wife died. Both are gone too soon. Both left a lasting impression on many lives.

My sister-in-law died unexpectedly and leaves behind her grieving husband and three beautiful children. In the shock and tragedy of her untimely death, I saw an outpouring of love from family, friends and neighbors. All came together to comfort one another through words, hugs, meals and the remembrance of many good memories.

The funeral was the saddest one I have ever attended. But it was also a emblem of a town showing love for one who either directly or indirectly affected many lives.

Her youngest sister spoke at the service about a fun-loving, caring person who touched her life by the way that she lived so enthusiastically. She felt like she was a combination of her two sisters. One sister had always been nurturer and the other inspired her to live life to the fullest. Her fun-loving attitude was going to be incredibly missed.

As I studied my Bible this morning I compared the story  to our lives. It was the story of the battle between Israel and the Amalekites. The Israelites were in desperate need of help. The Amalekites were skilled warriors and the children of Israel were experienced in making bricks, not war.

Moses turned to God for help. He climbed a hilltop overlooking the battle below. Moses raised his hands and his staff. As long as his hands were lifted to God the Israelites were winning. When his arms grew heavy and he dropped them to his side, the Amalekites had the advantage. Aaron and Hur saw Moses struggling and sat on either side of him for support.

“As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.” Exodus 17:11 NIV

When life’s difficult circumstances arise, we need to seek the Lord first. We often try to tackle the problem by our self and rely on our own strength. Sometimes we make our own judgment of the situation and decide that it is hopeless. But God is available to us all.

Think about your own battles in life. You might feel like you are dealing with an overwhelming situation and see no way that good could come from your struggles. When life gives you heartache, health problems or anything that causes stress and confusion, there is always hope.

I also noticed in this story that Moses needed the help of his friends. I think it is important to have a support system that will help you through those difficult trials that we all face. Finding support from people who are dealing with the issues of Interstitial Cystitis and others similar health problems has been a great source of strength for me.

I will never forget what my one of my other sisters-in-law said at the funeral. She hugged me and said “I love you.” She said she was thinking after the funeral of our first loved one that all of us sister-in-laws should get together with our mother-in-law and go out for coffee or something. It is important to tell the people in your life that you love them. You never know what will happen and one of your loved ones may be gone too soon just like what our family has recently experienced.

From these painful difficulties I have been reminded look to the Lord for strength and guidance. I have also thought about how important it is to reach out to family and friends for support and remember to tell loved ones how you feel about them before it is too late.

In Loving Memory of
Barbara Jo “BJ” Campbell Leopard
December 2, 1963 – November 11, 2014

Support Links:

https://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome/faq#what

http://www.suicide.org/suicide-hotlines.html

http://psychcentral.com/resources/

As we made our way up the mountain on foot, I realized how “abnormal” I am physically. My brother and his wife took off at a rabbit’s pace compared to me at a snail’s pace. I held onto my husband’s arm not only for physical support, but for mental support too. We talked and laughed during most of the walk.

We were all trying to walk up the road that lead to the highest point in Georgia. Usually you can drive up, but it was closed due to the weather. Conditions didn’t seem too bad, but it was sleeting when we made our short hike.

I have been walking everyday so I thought that I would be in better shape. The truth be told Interstitial Cystitis has taken a toll on my body that makes me feel about 30 years older than I am in many ways and this is one of those ways.

At the time, as I saw my older brother and his wife far ahead of me on this short adventure, I didn’t feel sorry for myself. Instead I had a great felling of satisfaction that they were both healthy enough to make it so much faster than me. I was delighted that I was able to even attempt such a feat. It felt great just to be with family, outside and enjoying the beauty around me.

The mourning for my old life did not happen until a few days later when I was having a bad Interstitial Cystitis day. It was Wednesday and I was exhausted from the first two days of working. I didn’t get enough sleep, I volunteered at church and then went to work. I was drained!

That night melancholy took over my thoughts. I played a mental picture in my mind of how I struggled to walk up that mountain that seemed so easy for everyone else. It was depressing that I am thirteen years younger than my brother and that I was the main reason we didn’t make it any further than we did on our journey.

But thank God that only lasted for that one night. Now I look back on that day with immense gratification. I planned a trip to the mountains of Georgia for my whole family. I was looking forward to seeing everyone and spending time together. It is new tradition we started a few years ago.

Since the ride to the mountains was going to take about three hours, my husband thoughtfully suggested that we make the drive the night before and stay at a motel. That way the next morning I would be rested and enjoy the outing more.

My Mama, sister, brother-in-law and brother were going to travel and meet us the next day. My oldest brother and his wife live nearby and were going to meet in the mountain city of Hiawassee Georgia. However; the strangest thing happened. It snowed in my hometown that morning. It doesn’t snow much where I live. It was certainly an unprecedented early-season snowfall. We had more snow in my hometown than we had where we were in the mountains…Who knew??!! My Mama and sister didn’t have any power at their house, so they decided not to make the trip.

I was disappointed and I could tell that my older brother was too. We both had to decide to make the best of the situation. My husband, Alan and I met up my brother and his wife at an antique store. I found exactly what I was looking for to give to my Mama for Christmas…and I asked Alan to pay for it…and he did!…Score!

That mountain climb experience for me was a metaphor for my life now. I have many mountains to climb (and who doesn’t?) They are harder for me to overcome now that I have Interstitial Cystitis and it may take me longer to do things, but I have to keep on trying. As on the mountain trip, my family supports me along the way. My older brother encourages and advises me with my writing. He also can relate to my chronic pain. My sister-in-law is always so thoughtful about asking how I am doing and really seems to care about me. She also helps me with preparing food and cleaning up after a family meal. My husband cooks supper for us and helps around the house with daily chores. All of these things combined with my determination help me to live like a “normal” person in my new abnormal life.