Winter Living

This week it is very cold in WI. Today when I woke up, I checked to see if Nate had school because they were predicting wicked windchills. Luckily, it was only -16F, so school was NOT canceled today. I do hope that they had indoor recess, though. Because it's been so cold, Abbie and I have been spending a lot of time at home. We have been doing a sort of mid-winter clean because I think that if we wait for spring cleaning, I'd end up spending until next winter to get it habitable again. It feels nice to have a warm, clean home to spend our days in. I'm very grateful for a cozy home.

This morning, I woke up on the complete wrong side of bed. I was in a very sour mood. Alan was on his way out the door as we got up, but I asked him if he could just stay for 2 more minutes (so that I could pee in peace). Long story short, Alan ended up staying home until 8:15(!!) to take Nate to school. It was unbelievable. We all ate breakfast together. Alan shoveled. I'm literally speechless when I try to describe how wonderful it was to have him home in the morning. I honestly can't remember the last time that he was home when we got up, let alone for getting ready. It was like a crazy late Christmas present! I felt giddy with joy and my day got off to a MUCH better start. I really love Alan and I am so grateful that he was able and willing to spend some extra time to help me out this morning. It was a real blessing.

This is Abbie's favorite place to be. She'll spend a half an hour sitting here. She reads or talks to herself. You'll notice the heating vent right below her feet.

Nate recreating A Christmas Story.

This is how I found the dustpan after Abbie swept the bathroom. I thought it was just too cute that she hung the big dustpan on her mini-broom, like I do on my big broom.

Abbie helped me declutter and arrange all of the pictures, etc. on our fridge.

Abbie and Nate have some new jobs that they have to do twice a week around the house. Abbie's job is to clear the bathroom counter, wipe it down and then put everything back. She takes it very seriously. Nate's job is to wipe around the bottom of the toilet--He hates it. (I told him that I hate it too and if he'd just watch where he pees, he would only have to do it once a week.)

Overall, things are going very well for us. I feel very blessed. This is the first time in, well I really don't even know how long, that I am not depressed. It's amazing. I have been hesitating saying anything because I didn't want to jinx myself, but you know what?, I have worked incredibly hard to get to this place and I am going to share it. I credit (in no particular order) medication, exercise, diet, my light box, and a whole lot of self-critiquing, self-realization, perspective and serious work. I also credit the support of my friends and family. And God. I would be ungrateful if I didn't say that God had a part in this. I think that the key for me that makes this time different than others, is that I've worked really hard to get out of this last depression. I mean I have worked REALLY HARD. It wasn't just medication and I didn't just slip into a better place in my life. This was due to some serious time and energy. That's what makes me confident that I'll be okay for a while. I know that it will probably come back at some point in my life because like Diabetes, it's just one of those diseases that people like me have to deal with for all of our living days, but I feel confident that I can beat it again when it rears its ugly head. For now, I am better. I am healthy and happy, despite everything in my life that tries to bog me down. Hallelujah.