Five years

My MS, and this blog, have taken a distant back seat this past year.  I simply have not had the extra energy to put the focus on ME.  I had to be with my Mom, mourn my Mom, and attempt to re-start my life without her.

(the latter is still very much a work in progress).

But today, I take a moment to reflect.

Five years ago my life was changed. Altered not because I wanted it to. Not because I had achieved a goal or won an award.  But because I was handed a diagnosis that would challenge every ounce of who I thought I was.

Every idea that crept through my brain. Every expectation for my future.

It was a lot to accept that day, and sometimes still is.

But I have resolved that I am okay.  I can do this.  I can still live and love and carry on.

I know that MS will still bring many challenges.  Many tears.  Many worries.  But I also recognize that living with MS has made me an emotionally stronger person, a more assertive person.  And, perhaps most importantly, a more thankful person.

So, each year, on this MS-iversary of mine, I think about the day my future changed.  I think about what it has enabled me to do, and I remind myself that I can celebrate all that I have overcome.