This week’s blog is dedicated to my Father who passed away in June of 2011 of cancer. I love and miss you daddy!
My father, a former military man, had a wife and two daughters. He did not want any of his girls to be sick, hurt or in pain-EVER! Scrapped knees, infections and menstrual maladies all had to be suffered in silence. Not because dad was merciless, he believed that talking about your illnesses was a sign of weakness.
In my late thirties, when I was diagnosed with an autoimmune thyroid disease, my father would scoff at me for lamenting about things like fatigue, or joint pain. This was after he would call me to ask, “Hey, how are you doing?”…but then not wanting to hear (or deal with) the truth, he would say, “You feel GREAT, stop saying you are tired.”
It wasn’t like I was a complainer; he just NEVER wanted to hear me say I was anything other than fantastic.
On Christmas in 2010, the chemotherapy treatments had taken a toll on my father. He said to me, “I realize now what it means to have a chronic illness, baby girl, and I apologize for ever down-playing what you had been going through.”
This meant the world to me because I wasn’t seeking attention, I wanted understanding.
He went onto say, “But you know, we are blessed to have the opportunity to view the world with a different set of glasses than the pair we had on before.”
Some would say, “blessed” doesn’t seem like the word most fitting, but oh… I knew exactly what he meant.
The best way I can describe it…it is like being fitted with a special pair of glasses, not the 3-D variety, where everything is distorted, not bifocals where everything is magnified, not UV where things are blocked out, and definitely not rose-colored. They are just real, authentic glasses. Glasses that help you see what is important.
With these new pair, it is easy for me to identify with the cliche “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”. I feel this mantra deeply within my soul, because, truth is, I can’t sweat it. I can’t afford to spend the strength or energy on the trivial.
This truly is a blessing!
My dad’s new pair of glasses meant he could accept both of our diseases because it was reality…Good, bad or ugly…. It is life. Acceptance, understanding, and loving what life has to offer is much easier than distorting, blocking and making things bigger than what they are.
Battling an illness is not easy, however experiencing life with real glasses is. Eyeglasses that help us see what’s most important, during this holiday season and throughout the year, which is-Faith, Family and Friends…the rest is…well, small stuff.
Oh…and the great news is..as for the big stuff…the major stuff in life. I don’t need glasses, God is carrying me through those times. I have blind faith that everything will work out for the good.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
From The Crazy Thyroid Lady!
It is not too late!! Get your copy of Wow Your Mom Really is Crazy before Christmas. I have gotten a lot of feedback, that this book is an excellent quick read for your friends and family to help them better understand what you are going through with your thyroid disease. This book is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and iBooks.
Carol
Carol Gray is a former model, published writer, blogger and thyroid advocate. She has a B.S. in marketing and business administration. Carol was diagnosed with an autoimmune thyroid disease in 2006 that almost incapacitated her, since then she has been fighting her way back to wellness. Carol hopes to soon release her first book Wow Your Mom Really is Crazy about her struggles and triumphs over thyroid disease.
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