We have great personal news to report...... No new episodes or changes! Things are going great just by being normal. Yup, normal highs and lows. We continue to make steady progress in getting in learning how to deal with a wide range of emotions in an appropriate manner and what many people consider "normal" expressions and coping skills. We have had moments of happiness, sadness, irritability, frustration, silliness, bitterness, disappointments, pleasant surprises, anger, and even a moment of terror that we were afraid would cause a set back. And best of all, we dealt with them all sanely, not always calmly but with no outbursts. The strands of lights get to go back up on the walls, with the thumbtacks holding them up.
How did we get to this point? Constant determination, support, love, structured routines, affirmations, reassurances, and encouragement. We refused to give up. We refused to back down. We refused to take a break. We refused to give up hope. We stayed proactive. We adapted and made changes to what emphasize what worked and get past what didn't work. We built on our individual strengths to try to be the strongest combined unit.
Are we "cured"? Have we beat these problems? Have we prevented them from ever happening again. No, not by a long shot. But we are in this for the long haul. And each month we go without a crisis, without imminent fear of self-harm is another closer to making it a year. Each year will bring us closer to achieving that dream of a long, healthy life.
So, that is where we are at today with our personal news. On a subject that is also personal to us, but involves other people - we feel like we are making a small difference in helping others. We have one mom who was encouraged to trust her instincts and simply given a single phone number to help her find the resources she believed she needed. Since then, she has discovered heartbreaking information but is able to seek the help she already knew she needed. We will continue to keep mom and family in our thoughts and prayers while she begins her own difficult journey. And we will be available to help her find whatever resources she needs, if she has any further difficulties on finding them. I doubt that she will need much help, she is a tough cookie and is already getting the help for her child that is needed.
Another mom needed help finding an agency near her to assist with a situation in her home. We helped locate the appropriate agency and looked up some laws pertaining to her situation. We were able to help her get started on getting this situation resolved in the quickest manner legally possible. That situation should be on its way to being a part of her past by the end of this month.
So, with all of this tooting our own horn, just what did we do - very little actually. But sometimes, it is the very little assistance that we need the most to get started. Both of these moms are very capable women and were able to pursue the actions that they needed to take. But both are busy moms and in the middle of dealing with issues that makes trying to figure out where to turn to get started a struggle all by itself.
Those "very little" moments of assistance is what we are able to do best. It takes just a moment of our time and it is what we want to do. It costs us nothing, and we don't charge anything for simply helping another mom (or dad someday) out. I cannot think of a single act of assistance that we would ever need to charge for. We are not professionals running a business. We are simply a family who has struggled and wants to help other families from struggling any more than necessary. That kind of assistance should never come with a price tag.
So, if you or someone you know, needs some free assistance - looking up resources in your area, writing a letter, finding local agencies, or simply someone to listen to you - send us a message. We are here for you and we will be glad to help.
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