Living the Good Life: May 2012

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Help Does Not Equal Failure

I have been to see a therapist before. I deal with depression and anxiety issues. People hear or find out I have been to see a therapist and I see that look of geez what is wrong with you? Or get comments of oh you shouldn't worry you are a good person you have a beautiful family. Well yes I do but that does not mean that I do not struggle or do not have problems. Outwardly I can be happy while inwardly I am in torment. Some yes by my own doing other just by my chemical make up. I go to see a therapist when I need to not because I am weak or crazy but because I feel I am strong and am trying to remain strong.

There is such a negative connotation that goes with seeing a therapist or going to counseling. It is not fair to think that there has to be something seriously wrong with you if your admit you need help. Well guess what, that could not be farther from the truth. Those who can admit they need help dealing with certain situations are some of the strongest people I know. Therapy and counseling teaches a person different techniques on how to handle, view or approach different situations. Sometimes in cases medication is used because the bodies chemistry makeup may be unbalanced. Does that mean you are crazy. NO! It only means you recognizee something is not right and that you want to fix it. Believe me I have learned a lot being in therapy and it helps me know what power I truly have over my own life. It helps me know I will not be a person who chooses not to deal with life and end up having a moment where all comes to the surface at once causing me to act in a way that would be detrimental and life changing. I am not a failure. I am strong

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Texas Trip

So we left for our trip to Texas on Sunday the 29th around 11:00 PM. We were first going to meet up with my Grandma who lives in Firestone, CO. We got there around 9:00 am on the 30th.

We had a nice visit. We had Breakfast together it was nice to see and catch up with her. Richard had been driving all night so it was my turn to do some driving. We would be in Colorado for a good portion of the day and then briefly we would be in Oklahoma. Before Oklahoma Richard took over driving. As soon as we entered into Oklahoma Richard said to me hey if you see a speed limit sign tell me I don't know the speed here. No sooner did he say that he saw lights behind him as he was pulled over for going 72 in a 65 zone. He only got a warning as he explained he did not see any speed limit signs. Honestly the entire hour we were in Oklahoma we did not see any speed limit signs what so ever.

We got into Amarillo TX around 6:00 PM we were going to stop in a hotel but because I had gotten some sleep we decided to try to keep driving as Richard would rest until we got to San Antonio and then he would drive from there. Well I am not a map reader and only go by the directions that I could get from GPS well we ended up taking a lot of back roads. Both of us were getting tired and not much sleep we were about an hour from San Antonio we did not know this but we found a hotel in a small town and just had to stop. That was about 3:30 am on the 1st so we stopped until about 8:30 am giving us and the kids a chance to sleep in a bed and then shower and freshen up for the rest of our drive. We ended up getting into San Antonio and then just had about a 3 1/2 hour until we would reach Portland and be able to relax at his parents house. We got to his parents house right around 1:00 pm with two kids and a 6 month pregnant lady I think we made good time. Especially considering a 5 hour stop at a hotel and loosing an hour of time in changing time zones.

We did get some time to rest the rest of that day. I think that the lack of sleep and the humidity took its toll on me because the next day I was not feeling 100%. But there were plans to go to the Aquarium and I could not pass that up. So I bucked up and we went and the kids got to enjoy the Aquarium.

The next day we headed to Houston that is about a 3 hour drive. Richard's mom works for a hotel so we were staying in a hotel that night. We got to Houston and that night we went to a baseball game. It was fun but very hot. And the Astros won so that was great.

After our stay at the Hotel that night we stayed in Houston and the next morning we went to the Children's Museum. It was great fun. The kids loved it.

We then Drove back from Houston to Portland and had the chance to rest for the evening. The next day though we went to a Hooks Baseball game they are Triple A team. They did not do so good but it was still fun.

The day after that we spent at the beach I enjoyed it because Josh enjoyed it. It think it was his favorite part of the trip he had so much fun.

The Next day we just spent time relaxing and recovering from our week of non stop fun. It was great. Joshua and I got really sunburned. That was Josh's first Sunburn he did not like it so much. Richard did get burned on his arms and neck. Jorja did not get burned at all.

The next day was our drive home. Well we did stop in Kyle Texas to meet up with one of Richards old friends it was a nice short visit but good to get to know someone new. Then we had our drive to Roswell and stayed there for the night. No we did not see any aliens but thanks all for the alien jokes when you found out where we were staying. We did learn we do need to stop no straight driving for us. The next morning we were back on the road to Salt Lake City only 13 more hours and we would be back home. Well so we thought. Richard did most of the driving we switched just outside of Green River, UT before getting onto Highway 6 then we switched. It should have been just a 35 minute drive to the end. Little did I know that no one has any common courtesy anymore and will not turn off their high beams while driving at night no matter how many times you flash them. Thus making a twisty mountain road very hard to navigate and then having an anxiety attack did not help. Luckily we got to a part where I could pull over and Richard drove until we got out of the pass. Then we just had our hour drive from Orem to North Salt Lake. We got home at 1:40 AM on 5/11 got the kids in bed and the car unloaded and then off to bed I went. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. It was a great trip. But felt good to be back in my own bed.