Month: April 2016

My Refreshing Time of the Year

At last, it is Spring!

Although the past week brought nights of freeze warnings and some snow, the calendar tells us it is Spring.

Crabapple TreeMy flowering crabapple tree is in bloom and temperatures are finally going to be warm in my area for the next week.

After my family’s emotionally hard winter we are all ready for a refresh!

No matter how long the winter,

spring is sure to follow.

—Proverb

When growing up my Momma always did her “spring cleaning”, going so far as to wash down walls!  We had so little, but she wanted to keep what we had, neat and clean.

Just like Momma, but not as extreme as washing walls, I try to give my home a spring refresh.  I give everything a good dusting, eliminate clutter that has piled up over the winter months, and cleaning a few windows, letting in the spring sunshine.

I want my home to be clean, simple, and uncluttered. Seriously, having clutter in a home is horrible. Never being able to find anything is so stressful, it weighs so heavy on your overall life.  If eliminating clutter is the only thing you have time for this spring, do it!

My spring decorating is no frills, just simple.

Found some white dishes in a thrift store and added to each side of my dining room hutch.

White Plates in the DiningSpent $3 on some dogwood sprigs at Hobby Lobby for the table, and added some sweet yellow birds here and there.

Dogwod in the DiningYellow BirdsSpring is also a good time to refresh other areas of our lives, our emotions, our hearts.

I have spent some quiet time focusing on my life, my faith, forgiveness, letting go, the important things, love, tell them!

Refresh!  Take care of those areas in your life that are weighing you down.

Go outside today, breathe the sweet spring air, feel the warm spring sunshine, and refresh!

Lovely thoughts to all of you!

 

 

Living with Multiple Sclerosis

In several posts I have shared that my husband Jim, suffers from Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.

Our days together can be so difficult and challenging, filled with overwhelming sadness for me to see what this disease is doing to his body.

Living with Multiple Sclerosis

Diagnosed many years ago, starting with numbness and double vision, the doctors told us that they thought he had a “mild case”, if there is such a thing!  They stated that he would probably not be crippled.

At one point he suffered from extreme, relentless neck and shoulder pain.  His neurologist sent him to the Mayo Clinic for a week of testing, only to be told the pain was due to Multiple Sclerosis.  Jim described the pain, “as if someone were putting a drill to his shoulder and neck”.

As with many episodes of the disease, the pain eventually ended, but the fear that it may return is terrifying to him.

I have decided to post more, from time to time, on what we face living together with Multiple Sclerosis.  I need someone to talk to and I have chosen my blog.

After a bit, no one, not even family members, who love us, can understand the devastating way this disease is taking his body from him.

Can I say I am “Loving my New Simple Life” when my husband is deteriorating little by little every single day?

Believe me, if I had not changed my way of thinking about life, identifying what is really important, love, family, being together, our lives now would be filled with even more unhappiness, depression, and dark clouds.  We do laugh and find joy in being together on most days.

Life is rough, but I knew when I stopped working it was the right thing to do, to be with Jim.

Living with less money, doing without a bunch of extras was hard for me at first, but now it has taught me to love all that I have.

Maybe some of my writings will help others who are living with someone with a physical hardship.

Until the next time, I wish all of you love and courage.