Never Give Up!

If you feel like giving up…don’t! No one said this life would be easy.  I know…I have to remind myself this everyday.  Take this blog for example. I’ve been working on it it for over four years and guess what?  Some days I don’t get any visits. On a good day I will get 10 visits or so. But taking my own advice I refuse to give up.

I enjoy writing, and this blog is an outlet that let’s me improve my writing skills. I also hope that in some small way that I am able to help just one person that finds them self here.  Sure, it would be great if I was one of those bloggers that could support themselves from all the money their site is pulling in.  But that’s not my reality.

So if you think about giving up, just think about working on a site for several years and getting no traffic most days!  It’s like yelling out into the void of the universe but no one is listening.

I learned to persevere through the trials of life from my parents. My mom had MS and fought this terrible disease for over 30 years.  As you can imagine, she had her ups and downs like anyone would that is slowly losing their freedom and independence from this dreaded disease.

But what my mom never gave up.  She fought this tooth and nail until the day she died.  Whether this was doing everything she could to eat healthy, or once she was confined to a bed completely paralyzed from the neck down, facing each day with courage, tenacity, and dignity I learned so much from her about fighting. Nothing in this life is guaranteed so if you have your health consider yourself blessed/lucky and take advantage of every day.

I remember going to visit with her during her final years after my dad passed away and she was staying at a nursing home.  I would sit with her for hours hoping my visit would lift her spirits.  But many times she would end up giving me life advice about work and family.  I miss her dearly!  She was the strongest person I ever met and I owe so much to her.  Sometimes it pays to remember that all you can do is persevere.  Just standing at the end of the day is at times all you can do and is a victory all to itself.

So remember if you are dealing with a tough situation or it feels like you just can’t win, it could always get worst.  You could be a paraplegic confined to your bed.  I will never forget the day my dad died.  My parents were both in the same nursing home and my dad was fighting stage iv colon cancer.  It had traveled to his lungs and liver and after moving into the nursing home he died in less than a month.

I remember going between his room and my moms room that day.  It was terrible.  I sat with him most of the afternoon.  I left with my wife to go to Dairy Queen to get a, Oreo  Blizzard.  I then went to my parents house for a few minutes to decompress and watch The Simpsons.  When I returned to the nursing home they told me that my dad had just died.  I had missed it.  I kissed his forehead and will never forget how cold it was.  As a side note: it took me a long time to forgive myself for not being there when he died.  But I finally came to terms with it.  I believe he knew I had been sitting with him based on some of his responses to my voice and he knew it was OK to go.

I then went to my mom’s room to tell her that her husband for over 35 years was gone.

Even though I had been expecting it I was still in shock. I thought she would break down but she didn’t even cry. In fact I never remember her crying about my dad’s death even though he was her husband and caregiver for several years.  She was so strong and she was able to live almost another 5 years before finally losing her battle with multiple sclerosis.  She never gave up! Even during the darkest times.

Whenever my job is stressing me out or things aren’t going well on the home front I remember that I was raised by two strong individuals who never gave up and always kept  pushing forward no matter what!

If you are having a hard time right now, I suggest you dig deep and keep pressing forward no matter how bad it is.  Whatever is causing you stress/pain right now remember it is only temporary.  Always remember that and good luck! You can do this.