Blessed!

Ten years ago today I was blessed to have been able to buy a house. I was 24 and had just finished paying off $20,000 worth of student loans in December 2004. Mom and Dad had graciously said that I could live with them as long as I was paying off the loans. But when the loans were paid off, I knew the next step was to move out! The house that I am now celebrating 10 years in has been a blessing in disguise. I have a ranch house, meaning no stairs. Who would have thought that would have come in to such big play just a few months later when I started having major walking issues?! God knew! Also, when I bought the house and had a house warming party for it someone mentioned that the halls in the house seemed extra wide, like they were handicap accessible. Again, who knew that this would come into such huge play, when now 10 years later I use a walker to get around?! God knew!

Ten years later and I cannot believe that I have owned my own home for that long. When I “planned” my life (what’s that famous Woody Allen quote? “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans”.), I never thought owning a home would be such a big deal. My plans were to get married right out of college and have 5 kids before I turned 30 and to be a stay-at-home mom. What I didn’t plan was to be single, pay off my student loans in two years, start having major walking issues, spend my 20’s going to doctors trying to figure out the walking issues, paying off my first car in a year, landing my dream job or buying a home. But now it is 10 years later and my initial plans have been completely, utterly turned on their head. I did not get married right out of college...it's 13 years later and I'm still not married. I didn't have 5 kids before I turned 30 - I don't even have one. And because I don't have kids, I’m not a stay-at-home mom. What I do have ten years later is a house I now call home, which I’ve managed to keep from crumbling to the ground, I had a 9 year period where I didn't have to make a car payment and now I have a “new” car (bought in 2011) that I’m paying off which is perfect for hauling my walker around in, a diagnosis of dystonia so I’m no longer going from doctor to doctor trying to figure out a mystery illness, and my dream job of working in the media (and actually working in the field I went to college for!) I say all-in-all I’m pretty darn pleased with how the Lord took everything I once thought I wanted and needed and completely turned it on its face! In my wildest dreams, I never would have thought my life would be like it is now. I’m thankful and blessed with all I have.

On the dystonia front – again, I must emphasize how blessed I am. I’ve been worrying about medication. I was completely out of refills when I got the letter from my neurologist saying that he was moving out of state. I called him and left a message with his nurse and did get a refill. However, when I went to pick it up, I noticed that it was only for a week’s worth of medicine. That’s when I started to panic. I’m in the process of getting a new neurologist, but even if I got one today, I probably wouldn’t get in to see him/her until months from now. So, I called my family doctor, explained my situation to the lady who answered the phone and my family doctor prescribed the medication I needed. Thank you, Lord that I have enough medication to get me through until I (hopefully!) get in to see a new neurologist. It’s one less thing I have to worry about (and worry really does affect the way I walk, interestingly enough!) Again – I am blessed to have an Internist who knows me and knows that I need the medication and is not afraid to step in and prescribe while I’m transitioning doctors.

I’ll end this post by saying, thank you. Thank you so much for reading. I am SO encouraged by all of the comments you leave. I’m always scared no one’s going to read these blog posts and then am humbled when you do. So, thank you, thank you for reading. Once again, I am blessed, blessed, blessed!