Recovering Puddle Jumper

I went from whimsy to woeful and back again in the past several weeks. I appreciate those of you that have come along for the wild emotional ride. Amid life being Lifey, I have neglected to celebrate some wins. Noteworthy things happened in the past few weeks, but I have minimized them. This is common and most of us have played that game. We diminish the hurdles we have overcome or downplay our successes. In Coach Jennie’s book Hilda, she refers to this as puddle jumping. When we accomplish a goal, it suddenly becomes no big deal, but when others do it, we celebrate their success.

Let’s share some of the cool things that are going on in my life and the lives of a few of my friends as well.

My friend, Elaine Pardi, had a wonderful interview published in Authority Magazine. The interview discusses five self-care practices that improve mental wellness. I was honored to be included in the article. Elaine shared the creative ways I steal self-care, 5 minutes at a time. I hope you check it out, leave a comment or two, and give it a clap.

Episode 123 of The Special Needs Mom podcast with Kara Ryska dropped this past week. Kara and I went deep into the disappointment and challenges on this journey. We also discussed tools that help us through disappointing times. You know our discussion included some gratitude talk.

“Gratitude reminds me that the sun is still up there. I may not be able to see the sun. I may not believe it’s still up there, but I know it is…when I cling onto gratitude.”

This podcast episode is a great listen for anyone, not just special needs moms.

I was invited to work on an episode of a new series created by Daniel DeFabio and Bo Bigelow for The Disorder Channel. (If you have Roku you can sign up for the channel from this page. It’s FREE!) The series, Pain Points was set to release on Festivus (December 22nd in case you were wondering) but it is streaming NOW. Pain Points takes serious obstacles and annoyances that impact the disabled and rare disease community and creates awareness in a fun and lighthearted format. It was such a fun project to work on and I am proud that I said yes. You can access The Disorder Channel through your Roku or FireTV device. A gift you can give me that doesn’t cost a thing is to subscribe to The Disorder Channel and commit to learn more about rare disorders and diseases in 2023. Rare is only rare because others do not know about it. The collective group of rare is over 30 million Americans.

A quote from last week’s post was shared as part of the GratitudeSpace daily text messages:

“Traveling with gratitude by my side has helped me survive the darkest storms. I feel a little lighter when I remind myself of something I am grateful for having in my life. It forces me to look beyond the immediate challenges and struggles. Gratitude gives me perspective, clarity, and hope.”

If you are interested in getting daily texts that include stories, quotes, and meditations all designed to build and strengthen your gratitude practice, text the word “Grateful” to 502-289-6799 or click on the link at Gratitude Space website to join.

Finally, just a couple of things that created a feeling of joy in my week:

My friend (and everyday hero), Julie, shared that her adult son, who has autism, was over the moon when he noticed a wrapped gift with his name on it under the tree. She pointed out that adults with unique needs often maintain that joy and jingle bells of the holidays. (Don’t tell her son the gift is clothes.) The childhood excitement around the holidays doesn’t stop for many of our unique adults. Isn’t that JOYFUL? Some of our kids never outgrow Santa, lights, Christmas music, the anticipation of presents with ribbons and bow. This is one of the big pluses in our unique journey. They never lose childlike wonder. What a gift.

Two fun songs I listened to this week that brought me peace and contentment. What I Have by Kelsea Ballerini. It is a beautiful song about counting the blessings we have. The other one is Count on Me by Bruno Mars.

That is all for this week. I appreciate you celebrating the wins and sharing the joys in the journey.