Last Few Months

Well, I am so thankful to have a new career, and a job with a PAYCHECK!!!  I had gone so long without working and having a paycheck  while I was back in school that I didn't know how to act when I got my 1st check! I just felt so grateful. Job is going well and we really like living in Vestavia.  Lately we have done several things.We have decorated our new bedroom. I made a Christmas wreath. We celebrated Dad and Tony's birthdays and had a good Thanksgiving. I am almost finished Christmas shopping already and I am looking forward to traveling abroad sometime in 2012!  Sis is going to Morocco in January...lucky duck:) I am just so thankful to be out of school, close to family, and working.

Two Years Ago

Two years ago, around this very date I was laying on a park bench in the dark of night beside the ocean in Japan, crying my guts out. It seems like so long ago, but at the same time, that pain is something that you never forget. It is the kind of pain, that makes your stomach fall out of your body and your chest constrict like a fist, squeezing you to death. It was the end of everything and the beginning of everything new. It was like walking while being dead. It was breathing when you didn't want to. It was horrible, unexplainable, hurtful, and necessary. It changed me forever, and that is ok. If I hadn't been there, I couldn't appreciate where I am now. I wouldn't be as thankful, or as strong, and as happy as I am now. Being a survivor is empowering. It's the club you never wanted to join, but you didn't have a choice. Survivor...I like the way that sounds! I am grateful for my life.
Laura


Claire in Elizabethtown, "I want you to get into the deep beautiful melancholy of everything that's happened,"

Why does life fly by when you get older?

Me and Heather around 1980.

I have always been extremely sentimental...I think to my detriment. I miss being a child in many ways. Mostly because my parents were so young and fun, and me getting older means that they are also getting older.They were so good to us. We didn't have much money, but we had everything we needed and more. Life was good. I have always been family oriented. When I went off to college I wrote my parents a letter and told them how much I appreciated then and how much I had loved being in our family. We all cried together. I left for college when I was 17 so the better part of the last 17 years I have been away from my family for long periods of time. I have lived a lot of places, and loved traveling around, but I was never 100% happy because I was away from family. The last almost 2 years I have gotten to live close to my family, and it has been wonderful. I worry about the day when I will not have them anymore. I know that may sound morbid, but I have thought about these kinds of things ever since I was very young. I guess the moral of this post is that I need to show them how much I love them and appreciate them so that they know. Working in a nursing home is very rewarding, but it does constantly remind me of the brevity of life and the importance of saying I love you.

Vacation Toes

Ok, so I do not have a huge post to write right now, but I did do my toes today:) Leaving in a little while for the mountains. Definitely need the break. My clinal is going great. I  LOVE working with the children. When I start back next week, I will have 3 weeks left of clinicls and then a small break. Then back at the books, studying splinting and the business aspects of occupational therapy. Come on August...I can't wait to be done!!

5 months left of school!

I feel like it was yesterday that I was just thinking about Occupational Therapy and now I am 2 weeks out from starting my 3rd of 4 clinicals. This is one of the BIG ones. We will be treating patients, making mistakes, and learning SO much. It is exciting and terrifying. And then, when we finish in August, we will have to take the certification exam which is $500 to $600 a pop and some people say it takes several times to pass it. Ahhh! But like my friend said "One day at a time!" I have to pass this semester first. I have made so many great friends in this program and I already feel sad that I will not see them everyday when we are on fieldwork. But I AIN'T gonna lie...I will be glad to graduate (if I do) and be done with homework!!! One day at a time, one day at a time, gotta try to remember that.

Thankful

So I feel like I need to blog about the things I am thankful for so, here goes. I am thankful that a very painful year is behind me and wounds are healing and happiness returned. I am thankful that I have great parents who let me live with them until I could get back on my feet after the divorce. Who loaned me a car, fed me, bought me neccesities and fought for me to get a fair shake. They are the best most giving people. They wouldn't let me give up. They are strong and caring and I am BLESSED. I am thankful for my sister who started a group to channel the anger surrounding my divorce that not only helped me, but helps other people in need. I am thankful that she ALWAYS has my back and supports me. She makes me believe that I can do anything;) I am thankful for my granny who has been supportive and understanding and for my godparents who are always doing something sweet for me. I am also thankful for good, loyal friends. I am thankful for my dog, DON'T laugh, she is the best and she will never ask for a divorce. Lastly, I am thankful for Tony. He listens, he understands, he is patient, he takes care of me, he gives and gives and doesn't ask for anything. I know no person is perfect, and I don't believe in fairy tales, but I am very happy and Tony has helped me believe in people again- and that was no easy task. I am thankful for second chances.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

20's or 30's

So, one of our questions on a test today was "Dispute or refute...the 20's are the best years of your life." I of course chose to refute it;) My 20's started off very tumultuous, all those new life factors and expectations coming into play. I suffered severe depression and identity issues. Yes, parts of it were exciting, but honestly, I love my thirties, so far anyway. I don't like feeling older, but what I do love is finally knowing who I am and what I am about. That took a long time for me. There is something great about knowing that I am my own person and that others can like it or leave it;) What would you choose? 20's or 30's?