1,000+ Reasons to Smile

I have been silent on this blog for awhile now.  You see life has thrown me a curve ball, or rather a sucker punch, and I didn't really want to document any of it.  I don't want to remember the last month, it was dark and twisty and terrifying.  The worst part is that it's not over.  We are still riding the shock waves that erupted with a literal knock at our door.  I'm not trying to create dramatic suspense here, but I don't want to get into the details here either.  It is not something I want to remember in depth years from now; and that is what I use this blog for, a virtual diary to catalog the moments in life that slip by too quickly.  Unfortunately this mess is not something I want to refer back to.

Here is what I will say on the topic -
#1 - Having a blended family can be a great joy, but it can also be a source of great heartache.  When another person or another family has influence over yours, they have power to disrupt your life whether you like it or not.  They can violate you, manipulate you, and hurt you in ways you never saw coming. 
#2 - In the epic battle of good versus evil that has raged on in many forms since the beginning of time, good can often lose in the short term because it will not stoop to the levels evil so happily lives in.
#3 - Quotes, cliches, and proverbs are trotted out on parade in times of great struggle. This is our futile attempt to make sense of the senseless, and surprisingly it does help.  It helps to know that others have lived through something trying and horrible and lived to say something quotable about it later.  It is comforting to repeat them in a mantra of hope, to hold on to them as though they were a life raft, and to post them on to a Pinterest board.
#4 - Your true friends are there for you in times like these.  Messy times full of tears and wine and more tears are when real friends show up with more wine.  We have amazing friends.  We have friends who text, call, clean, cook, grocery shop, watch our kids, make us run, make us laugh, send us inspirational quotes, show up to sit in waiting rooms with us, distract us, and support us in any and every way they can.  We are truly blessed.

One friend sent me this quote - "When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile. - Unknown"

I have more than a thousand reasons to smile and it is time to start focusing on that. This isn't over, but while we are riding this roller coaster I choose to focus on the positives as much as possible. I have amazing friends, a wonderful husband, and incredible children.