My grandfather passed away back on the 11th. After years of dealing with dementia, then Alzheimer's, his body and mind ran out of steam, so to speak. He is my second family relation to pass after being diagnosed with this disease. I will always love and miss you, Grandpa Pete.
This week's been pretty rough for us. I won't bore you with the details, but here it is in a nutshell: I got turned down for a job I really wanted, our washer broke, my grandfather passed away, and just when we thought we might get an offer on our house, the buyer put an offer in on a cheaper house (ugh). The saying, "when it rains, it pours," has manifested itself to Amy and I more than once in our marriage, and here is yet another storm to weather.
It got me thinking, at first, Why me? It's a natural reaction, to revert to anger. We've all done that. Then I started thinking about priorities. The first priority everyone, I think, would say is family. Spouse, kids, parents, cousins, close friends; whatever you consider family, that's always what's most important in life. After that, it's our own personal well being. After ensuring our family is well and good, we then look to ourselves, whether physically, mentally, spiritually, etc. to ensure our own personal wellness.
This is all done in the name of sanity, in my own insane mind. As long as my family is safe and well, and I am safe and well, then I can function and face the day, whatever may come. If either of these priorities become unwell, I become stressed.
So, here's my Empowering Fathers thought: If at times you feel stressed out, stretched thin, bogged down, whatever you want to call it, ask yourself these two questions: Am I taking care of my family? Am I taking care of myself?
The catch here is that if you answer "no" to either of these priorities, it's probably hurting the other. I'll be the first to admit this. I've seen it in my own life, and I'm working everyday to make sure I can confidently answer "yes" to both these questions.
This week's been pretty rough for us. I won't bore you with the details, but here it is in a nutshell: I got turned down for a job I really wanted, our washer broke, my grandfather passed away, and just when we thought we might get an offer on our house, the buyer put an offer in on a cheaper house (ugh). The saying, "when it rains, it pours," has manifested itself to Amy and I more than once in our marriage, and here is yet another storm to weather.
It got me thinking, at first, Why me? It's a natural reaction, to revert to anger. We've all done that. Then I started thinking about priorities. The first priority everyone, I think, would say is family. Spouse, kids, parents, cousins, close friends; whatever you consider family, that's always what's most important in life. After that, it's our own personal well being. After ensuring our family is well and good, we then look to ourselves, whether physically, mentally, spiritually, etc. to ensure our own personal wellness.
This is all done in the name of sanity, in my own insane mind. As long as my family is safe and well, and I am safe and well, then I can function and face the day, whatever may come. If either of these priorities become unwell, I become stressed.
So, here's my Empowering Fathers thought: If at times you feel stressed out, stretched thin, bogged down, whatever you want to call it, ask yourself these two questions: Am I taking care of my family? Am I taking care of myself?
The catch here is that if you answer "no" to either of these priorities, it's probably hurting the other. I'll be the first to admit this. I've seen it in my own life, and I'm working everyday to make sure I can confidently answer "yes" to both these questions.
