Tag: Positive

REFLECTING ON THE GOOD IN 2024

Published on by Aimee EddyLeave a comment

Now that 2024 is over, we can look over the past year and reflect on it. For some it was a good year, bringing success, new beginnings, and happy memories. For others it was a hard year with rough times, heart aches, and loss. When we look back at a year that we struggled through, we often forget about the positive things that happened in that year. It’s easy to dwell on the bad.

2024 was a hard year for my husband and me and for my family. It started out with my husband being partially laid off while his workplace did some remodeling. Then my dad was diagnosed with bone cancer. Next, once the remodeling was done at my husband’s workplace, was getting his hours back, but he hurt his back and had to take time off. Once his back was better, we thought everything was going to be good, but then my husband started having dizzy spells. In the process of trying to find out what was wrong, we learned he had bronchitis and a urinary tract infection. We eventually found out he had vertigo.

Then my dad was hospitalized and on a ventilator with renal and heart failure. Next, my husband’s job cut him down to two days a week and then permanently laid him off. He got another job, but after nine days they also laid him off. On top of all that, unemployment claimed he was working when he wasn’t, and they stopped his payments while they reviewed his case. Finally, I got a nasty cold and was miserable on New Years Eve and Day.

In 2024 it seemed like the world was against us. Everything was going wrong. I’ve spent hours helping my husband apply for jobs with no luck. It felt like my worst fears were happening. Everything was falling apart, and holding on to our home and paying our bills seemed impossible. I feared we would lose our home. I kept telling my husband, “I’ll live in a cardboard box as long as I’m with you.”

I also thought I was going to lose my dad and that was unbearable. I spent hours at the hospital visiting my dad, telling him to fight, and asking everyone I could think of to pray for him. My younger siblings came to town, and we bonded together to hold each other up.

It’s so easy to say that 2024 was an awful year and to overlook the good things that happened. My dad pulled through and worked hard to get back on his feet. He went back to doing home repairs, working in the grape vineyards, and flying his airplane. My dad is a walking miracle.

Also, in 2024 my great nephew, Rex, was born and he is an adorable little fellow. We visited him and his family, and I enjoyed holding the little guy.

In April my husband and I used some of our tax refunds to take a week-long trip to my best friend’s home. Cheryl had moved to the town where my husband grew up, and he enjoyed showing Cheryl and her boyfriend around. I introduced Cheryl to my good friend Terri, and the three of us had a fun lunch together. My husband and I had lunch with some of his family, and we had dinner with his sister and her family. We enjoyed our trip.

The CEO of One Life Project promoted me from Executive President’s Assistant to Executive President of Educational Outreach and Advocacy. I have been learning to move out of the background to become a leader. With One Life my husband and I traveled to Harrisburg and Hershey for events. Through One Life I have found myself trying and learning new things, stepping out of my comfort zone.

As of 2024 I am cancer free for six years and no longer must go to the cancer center every six months. I graduated to once a year. Friends and family have helped us out in many ways during our struggles.

Lou and I have had some fun times together creating new memories. We celebrated seventeen years with a nice dinner out. Our struggles have brought us even closer and have shown me I can take care of him as well as he takes care of me.

After reflecting on last year, I can see that despite the struggles and heartaches, there were many good things. This helps put a different perspective on 2024. The year wasn’t just an awful year; it was also good. I’m hoping that in 2025 there will be more positive than negative things happening in my life. It’s starting out rough with no unemployment to pay our bills, but I believe that things can only get better.

If you had a bad 2024, look back at that year and list the positive things that happened. Then reflect on the positive and let the bad things that happened stay in the past. Look at 2025 with hopes for a happy, healthy, and successful year. Things can always get better and there is always good despite the bad times. This might be the year you reach recovery and start a new beginning.

Despite the rough start to the new year, I believe it will get better. God has a plan to provide for us and because I believe this, I stand in the light being held by God’s mighty hands.

Happy New Year.

BEING THANKFUL

Published on by Aimee EddyLeave a comment

The holidays are supposed to be a happy time of year. Thanksgiving is getting closer and closer. People are busy planning big meals to celebrate with friends and family. It’s a time of sharing and being grateful for the things we have in our lives. But for many this holiday and other holidays are dreaded. Some struggle with anxiety about spending time with large groups of people, some are alone, some are struggling with depression and can’t find joy, some dread family drama, and some are spending the holidays without a loved one.

When I was younger, I hated holidays. They only made me feel more alone and depressed. I struggled with friends coming in and out of my life. My classmates and teachers put me down. I felt even more isolated from the world during the holidays. Thanksgiving left me feeling like there was nothing in my life to be thankful for. I fell into a depression and became irritable at the holidays. I fought with my siblings and easily went off on my parents.

When I met my husband, my perspective on holidays changed. He made everything brighter. He gave me reasons to celebrate, and with him I never feel or felt alone. I found things to be thankful for at Thanksgiving time.

This holiday season my husband and I are struggling financially, and I’m helping him search for a job. I feel stressed, sad, and overwhelmed. Thanksgiving is Thursday, and I have been wondering what I have to be thankful for. My husband is out of work, bills are adding up, we’re applying for jobs for him, but no one is calling, we have big decisions to make, and I don’t know how to make them. I feel depression tugging at me, but I’m fighting it.

To get into the holiday spirit I decided to write a list of things I’m thankful for. Here is my list:

  • I’m thankful for friends who have helped my husband and me in our time of need. A customer who has become a friend sent me a check, a friend brought us dog food and a gift card, and another friend gave us a turkey breast.
  • I’m thankful to have a house to live in. Despite how tough things are for us, we still have a roof over our heads.
  • I’m thankful for my husband. I wouldn’t want to go through these tough times with anyone else.
  • I’m thankful for my parents. My parents are always giving moral support, listening to us, and helping us out in anyway they can. Their love is endless.
  • I’m thankful for the food bank at our church. Without the food bank, we would not have food.
  • I’m thankful for my dog, Esther. She always seems to know when I’m struggling, and she gives me extra cuddles.
  • I’m thankful for being strong enough to fight depression. I could easily fall to the bottom of my hole of darkness, but I refuse to let that happen.
  • I’m thankful for having a family that loves me. My parents are wonderful, and so are my siblings. They show me in different ways how much they care.
  • I’m thankful for my job. Without my job, we would be in even worse shape. Talking to my customers brightens my day.

Thanksgiving is a time to look at your life and see what you have to be grateful for. When you are struggling with hard times and mental illness, it’s hard to find good things. If you think about it and list things you are thankful for, you might find light in your soul. You can be grateful for small things like getting out of bed, taking a shower, or going for a walk. No matter how bad things seem, there is always something in your life to be thankful for.

This holiday season I have been struggling with a lot of emotions and coping to keep above the hole, but writing a list of what I am thankful for is helping me celebrate in the light of recovery.