??Question of the day??

As most of us already know adversity builds character and strength. I though it would be nice if we could all share the wisdom we have gained from our own struggles. What has been your greatest struggle in life and how has that changed you? What good thing have you taken awawy from it? My own personal struggle has been with having a mood disorder. I have always been extremely independent and in the past few years there have been a few times where my independence has been taken away from me. The greatest thing I have taken away from this is that I have learned to let others help me. Not to say I have totally learned this yet. It is a process and I am a control freak! LOL This is a great gift to recieve and not always be the one doing for others as I have been in the past. It has required me to learn how to trust. I am amazed at the beautiful relationships I have gained from allowing myself to be vunerable with others. That has extended to this wonderful support group that is made up of all of you. I have been blessed beyond words. Having the frustrations I have had this past week has really shown me that I am not alone in this whole journey. Your outpouring of love and support has had me overwhelmed. Hugs, Jaimee

WOW this one is going to take some thought I have to say my greatest struggle in life was finding out my ex was having an affair with someone after we just had a child then after leaving him with no where to go and no saved money finding out I was pregnant again I went away from that knowing that I can never depend on anyone but me and knowing that if I want anything in life I have to work for it

Miss Nikki, you are obviously a very strong woman to come through all of that and be such a positive person. I hope your kids will understand that about you some day. They are very blessed to have a mom like you. Hugs, Jaimee

I agree. This is a tough one. I think the one thing that made me who I am today was my weight problem. I had to struggle my whole life to form some kind of identity that was not "the Fat One". It was not the hardest thing I ever did, but it was the one thing that shaped the person that I am. It also stopped me from being active and forming hobbies that did not involve physical activity. I am working really hard with my own children to find physical things that they enjoy and keep them off the couch. Good question Jaimee.

I hope I didn't go too "deep" with this one. I guess I am just being very reflective today. I agree with you about the weight thing. I always have struggled with feeling like I had to compensate for my physical inadequacy by giving and giving. I am learning that I have the right to set boundaries and that has been a difficult thing. Since most of my friends are used to me being very willing, I have ticked a few of them off lately by setting boundaries and using the word "no". I hope I can save my own children from falling into the trap of trying to "please" everyone all of the time at the expense of their own happiness. I am also trying to break the mold when it comes to sedentary activities. I encourage my children to be active and I limit their TV and Game time to 1 hr a day. I figure after they have been sitting at school most of the day, it is good for them to go outside and use those muscles. Thanks for sharing your insight Debbie! ~

This is a real tough question. I was two months pregnant and had a two y ear old and came home from work and found my ex with someone. A few years after that I started graduate school and found out that my finace and I were pregnant. I got married, completed grad school, and moved back home. After being home only a month my mom was in a bad car accident. She was lifeflighted to Akron Hospital, an hour away. I worked and traveled to see her for three months. Once she was released my oldest child went into a severe depression and was hospitalized. He was eight at the time. Now I have been working and living for a year and a half without further tragedy. I am learning that I can survive and that I can't control life. I am learning to trust people and that friends can be a big support. I am learning that pain is part of life and that what you do with that pain is what is important. I am learning that I can conquor this weight problem and live a healthy life. I am waiting for a reply form my insurance company, but I believe that either way I will find something good in this experience. I also believe in fighting until I get what I need. Wow. I haven't thought and shared all that at once before. Well I hope I'm not too deep. I love reading and learning from the board. Christy