Sunday, August 9, 2015

Week In Review - Ten Things Of Thankful (112)


Ten Things of Thankful


I'm quite honest, I wanted to skip this week. I am grieving, I feel depressed, I feel let down by the universe and our combined gene pool. In my little hole, I don't even want wine any more, and that means something! I just want to stay in my corner and mope. Until the mood passes. But this is exactly the point of this link-up. It's easy to be thankful when everything is wonderful; but when we're in the middle of a hard stretch, thankfulness becomes an exercise, to bring myself to the point where I can see the good aspects in the bad things in my life right now.

And here we go this week:

1. I am thankful for modern-day commodities. I had to say good-bye to a very, very good friend of mine this week, who's moving to England with her husband. It's been beyond sad and depressed about losing my friend, but thanks to the internet and other modern-day means of communication, she's always only be a click away. And thanks to airplanes, cars, ferries, etc., a visit to England is also not a big deal.

2. I am thankful for modern medicine. Lily was supposed to have her blood drawn this week to check for antibodies that would indicate whether she's inherited my auto-immune disease. After panicking, we decided to have and ultrasound done to see how her thyroid glands look, to see how urgent the blood test is. And lo and behold, one of her thyroid glands show the tell-tale sign of early Hashimoto Disease. I knew it. Deep down I've known it for a long time, that Lily is carrying this disease, don't ask me why. But I am thankful that unlike me, she'll get the proper treatment while the disease is still at it's earliest stages and will not spend decades of her life with it without knowing the reasons for the symptoms she's experiencing.

3. Ice cream for lunch. When it's hot and you're assisting your friend in an international move while falling and falling and falling into this stupid hole, ice cream sometimes just hits the spot.

4. Good neighbors who happily share a bottle of champagne and their porch for a good conversation while I feel deep down.

5. Calvin enjoying himself during his first visit at the daycare class he's going to attend starting mid-September. He played with the toys, interacted with the other kids, and already loves his teachers. So happy for that!

6. Calvin's first free steps!

7. Lily and Violet getting along so well these days. It simply warms my heart seeing them take care of each other, playing with each other, and sometimes just quietly sit next to each other, coloring or doing worksheets.

8. Calvin being a very healthy, active little almost-1-year old. His Well-Baby exam went perfectly, and according to our paediatrician, he's tall (75th percentile) and slim (50th percentile).

9. A fun evening walk out with all three kids. Absolutely drama and complain-free!

10. Good-bye pizza dinner with our friends. Nothing can dull the pain momentarily as well as pizza and wine.


I hope you all have a great week!

16 comments:

  1. Thanks for joining in, even when you didn't feel like it. It's hard to have friends move away! Enjoy your ice cream, and feel better.

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    1. Thanks so much, Kristi! The ironic part of all of this is that we left the Army life behind when Lily was born, to avoid having to leave people behind or being left behind on a regular basis just to move to Erlangen, where there's a huge expat community with people coming in and leaving constantly. I definitely have to make sure to watch who I allow so close to me in future!

      I hope you had a great week!

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  2. Yes to ice cream for lunch! I am all about that. :)

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  3. OH bummer of a week... you did so good in finding some things to be hopeful and thankful for! Sorry to see your friends go... I know they are only a skype away but still! Lily having Hashimoto's cant feel great either! BUT then Mr. Calvin the walker!!!!! and ice cream for lunch could only get better if it was for breakfast! Thinking of you this week! Have a good week! xo Ivy/zoe

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    1. Thanks so much, Ivy! I know that you are not having an easy time these days either, but you're always so brave and positive about everything. I think I just needed a little bit of time to let myself go, let the pain wash over me, and then get up, fix the crown, and walk on :-)

      I hope you did have a great week!!

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  4. I'm sorry you've had such a rough week. It's hard to lose a close friend to a move like that, especially if you don't have lots of close friends (I'm that way). It's good that they found the Hashimoto's early. It's interesting that you had an inkling that she had it.
    My baby Calvin is starting to walk! He's growing so fast! Glad he likes his daycare, so he'll be happy this fall when he starts up.
    Pizza and ice cream are my go-to comfort foods.

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    1. The thing with Lily is that she is so much like me. She looks like me, her personality is just like me, it would have just been the last little piece that she would share with me, and it seems I was right.

      Calvin is getting braver and braver about walking every day; the little guy walked across half the living room today! So proud of our little guy!

      I hope you had a great week, Dyanne!

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  5. It is so hard to say goodbye to a best friend. My best friend moved away 7 years ago, and I still miss her. Technology and modern transportation help, though, for sure.
    Poor Lily. I just went and read up about Hashimoto disease. While it does sound like a pain, I'm glad it was caught early and can be treated.
    Yay Calvin!
    Nothing warms a mom's heart like seeing her kids take care of each other. I'm glad you are getting to see it in action. :)

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    1. When I was a child, my "small goiter" (early Hashimoto) was treated with iodine supplements (about the worst one can do). I am so glad that we know what to look out for and will be able to get Lily the treatment she needs early so her thyroids may not be as destroyed as mine are today.

      I agree, modern technology and transport do help, but it doesn't compare with being able to spontaneously walking over for a chat.

      I bet you get plenty of cute kiddos loving each other as well. It's definitely heartwarming!

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  6. I hope your daughter can get help, but as I found out with my brother and the doncition we both have, me going first helped to ease the process for him three years later. I was glad I could go first and I am sure you are too, as much as you can be glad about this anyway.
    I love to see my brother's daughter and son start to get along and play together. I hope my nephew can get that too. My sister wants a sibling for him and so do I.
    Glad you could come up with something, even as it's been a crappy week. You are right. That's when this exercise is most valuable.

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    1. Thank you so much, Kerry! It is fun to watch siblings play, even though there's a good share of arguing as well going on there :-)

      I'm definitely glad that I knew what to look out for in the children and be aware of the disease. Without having Hashimoto myself, I would have never even thought about having any of them tested.

      I hope you have a great week!

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  7. what, is he like going to walk to school, or is he in high school already!?! let him get his driver's license already….
    sorry to hear about moving friends…as you note, this is the future where people are a mouse click away
    nice TToT'ing (you are demonstrating the spirit of this here bloghop here)

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    1. Thanks so much for your encouraging words, Clark.. Indeed, Calvin may have his first job interview next week.. As time flies :-)

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  8. I'm with Ivy - ice cream for breakfast is one of my few childhood dreams of adulthood that actually is true. Hashimoto's may not be a picnic, but like you said it's so much better when it is diagnosed and treated.

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    1. I agree, Vanessa! I was diagnosed late, in my late 20s after two kids, and I'm doing mostly alright with my treatment. With treatment starting so early for Lily, it will be that much easier for her.

      Ice cream is always wonderful, and an awesome therapist :-)

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