Why I write

In my 60+ years of living I have had a lot of experiences and have learned a lot of things from life.  I have 8 kids, some of them with mental health problems such as bipolar, major anxiety and other mental health issues. I have a child who is a recovered heroin addict, who still uses marijuana and for some reason that is unfathomable to me has started smoking cigarettes.  I have another child who has been through drug rehab for alcohol issues and I have a daughter with Down Syndrome (although she’s the easiest of my kids).  I have had chronic migraines for over 40 years which at times have been so severe that I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep on living.  I am married to a wonderful man but we haven’t always agreed on ways to deal with life challenges. Life has definitely not turned out the way I imagined!  I could stop there but then I would be ignoring the good parts of my life.  All of my children have sympathetic and kind hearts. They want to make the world a better place for others.  They love each other and look forward to family parties and being together. One of my daughters has a master’s degree in communicative disorders with an emphasis in deaf education and worked with preschoolers with hearing disorders. Another works to better the world for families with children who have developmental disabilities. One rescues dogs and anything else that is downtrodden. One of my sons is an auto mechanic who, in his spare time, fixes family, friends and neighbors cars for free because he likes helping people. All of my children have good things about them and are doing some good things. Working with them and my health problems, and working through disagreements with my husband has taught me many things and perhaps someone else could learn through some of my experiences. Life has not turned out the way I imagined-it’s better.