Lessons Learned

May 30, 2012

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” 
― Robert Frost

My Tribe

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball, or three. These last couple of months have taught me some very important lessons. All of these lessons came from places I’d least expect.

My children.

Considering the childhood experiences I had, parenting has always been my number one priority. I’ve aimed to give them experiences I had (and some that I didn’t), protect them from things I lacked protection from, and teach them that life is what you make of it and not what people tell you it should be.

I’ve always lived by the reasoning that “things happen for a reason“. It’s been this thought pattern that has helped me to make it through the other side of an abusive childhood in one piece and through the medical battles I’ve endured most of my adulthood. I’ve tried to teach them this same thought process, all the while hoping it would sink in.

After all….. all we can do as parents is hope that what we teach is heard, that what we say means something and that we have made some sort of a positive impact on our children. As mine have gotten older, I have sat back teary eyed and watched as the years have moved on and the times of strollers and Blues Clues have faded. 

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”
― Dr. Seuss

To be honest, there isn’t a time machine in the world that I would step into in fear of losing the wonderful people they are turning out to be. 

My Youngest

The truth is, these past few months have taught me a lot.

I think it’s only natural that when your kids get older you begin to panic that you’ve missed something. There’s always something you would’ve have done differently or something you wouldn’t have done at all. The fact of the matter is, it’s all those experiences that sum up who we are. Why deprive your children of them?

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned in life is this – It’s not the hand you’re dealt that determines your worth. It’s how you play that crappy ass hand that truly matters.

The past few months have overwhelmed me, so much so that I couldn’t even bring myself to type up a post. It’s truly been an emotional roller coaster and one that’s still rolling. There have been many times I thought to share what was happening but didn’t. I realized that there wasn’t a way for me to convey a thing while referring to my kids as numbers. As students, they are numbers. As baseball players, they are numbers. As patients, they are numbers.

To me, they are so much more.

When I began my blogging journey a couple of years ago, I was intent on keeping things as anonymous as possible. I became Thypolar, a comical look at some of my medical conditions. While I am not Bipolar, my thyroid sure is. Thus, ThyPolar was born. I honestly never intended for my kids to become part of my blogging experience. How I could expect that to happen considering how big a part of my life they are, I still have no clue…. but still intent keeping things as anonymous as possible, they became their ages.

They began as 10, 12 and 16. 10 is now 12. 12 became 13 and will be 14 next month, and 16 will be an adult soon.

With all these numbers floating around and there being so much to say, I’ve decided to introduce my kids as the incredible people they are. I guess it’s time to catch up on the events that have unfolded over the last few months.

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” 
― Mae West

First, I’d like to introduce you to Kurt, Mariah and Anthony.

Kurt (12), Mariah (13) and Anthony (17)

TO BE CONTINUED-

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