Monday, September 22, 2014

Free Yourself...

Last month we made a HUGE decision.  O.k. maybe not HUGE, but pretty decent sized. This was a decision months if not a year in the making. The Hubby and I both knew we wanted to do it, but it took quite a while to pull the trigger. I can say that we have now been living free from Television A.K.A Direct TV for an entire month. So this may not seem HUGE to everyone, but we found it quite challenging to actually pull the trigger, and walk away from a TV provider.  Hello, my name is Meri, and I am a Housewives Junky... There I said it.

We were only watching a handful of shows (granted we did really enjoy watching those shows, Housewives for me and Deadliest Catch for the Hubby) but to pay $100 a month for those handful of shows just seemed like craziness.  I knew the Hubby and I would be O.K. but quite honestly being a stay at home mom I was a bit worried about my sanity, knowing that our kids would not have television. You know what? They are doing great!!! There is life after the Disney Junior Channel. Who knew... They even have a television in their room, and they have not even asked us why it is not on anymore.  I would have never thought we could transition away from TV this easily.

I will admit that in our bedroom and in our family room, we do still have working televisions which are at the mercy of an antennae. When we need our TV fix we can watch our local channels as well as  numerous PBS Channels, and I might actually be turning into a PBS junky. When did PBS become so cool, or have I just become lame and old? Either way, let me say... If you are pondering making this decision to free yourself from a television carrier, I say do it!!! You will be pleasantly surprised.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

One year ago, I started a little Blog...

One year ago, I started a little Blog that chronicled my families life. Some thought it was great that I was sharing our journey with the world, others thought I had officially lost it. The truth, is probably somewhere in between. There have been topics that I have written about that have made me pause just before I hit the Publish button, and then there have been topics that have been 'no brainers'. The truth is that I love to write I always have. Words, writing, reading have all been a form of therapy for me. Lets get real, who doesn't benefit from a little therapy...

I began to struggle though, towards the beginning of Summer. I had plenty to write about, I just could not seem to find even five minutes to sit down and formulate my thoughts. This did not just apply to my Blog, we are talking life in general. By mid summer, I could not even hear myself think anymore. I was letting Life take control of me, and that is dangerous. That is when you stop living, you are merely going through the motions.  I felt like I was standing in the middle of a Highway with cars speeding all around me, and yet my movements were in slow motion. I pray that you never experience this, yet I know at some point we all go through it. For some, it is a constant struggle...

I am one of those people that believes everything happens for a reason. I needed to feel this 'out of control' feeling because we are now coming to the realization that our daughter 'LeiLei' probably feels 'out of control' quite a bit. How can anyone possibly help another individual when they themselves have never felt what that person is going through.  I now see how scary it can be, especially for a child. We have been diligent in keeping her active with Behavioral Therapy, attending weekly sessions for just shy of a year. Her improvements are HUGE, and I am so thankful for that. With these improvements we have now more than ever been able to see that things are just 'off' with her.  As a mom it breaks my heart to say that, as an advocate for my child I say lets fix it. Our next step will be a Neuropsych Evaluation. That will not come easy (or cheap)... Doctors like to wait until the kiddos are a bit older (around age 6) to perform such evaluations. So we have about a year of waiting ahead of us. Which is good because that gives this momma some time to come up with the money... I nearly fell out of my chair when I was told that they cost around $5,000... Yes, you read that right... No wonder so many people go untreated...

My beautiful LeiLei finding her 'Zen' during one of our beach trips this past summer...

I am so thankful for all of you who have followed our journey this past year. I look forward to another year of greatness, sadness, struggles, and adventures! I thank you all for your kind, uplifting, and sometimes down right funny comments you have left for me throughout the year. Most importantly I am thankful for my husband who from day 1 has supported me on this Blog adventure.  Have a lovely day!