Hello #1...Always looking up.

From first glance you would probably notice her golden brown locks.  What a gorgeous head of hair. Underneath all those locks is a beautiful, witty, kind, and bright lady.   She seems to always look on the bright side of things.  She loves fall.  Her approach to thanksgiving and Christmas totally made me rethink how I will do things during this time next year.  Instead of the ba-hum-bug of the holidays that we sometimes find ourselves in without knowing how we’ve arrived there; she approaches the holidays intentionally.  Every day in November Michelle posted on Facebook what she was thankful for.  This act propelled her into what December is all about…giving.  She decorated the entire house…inside and out with festive lights, Christmas decorations, collections of animated stuffed animals, Christmas globes some of which were broken by her kiddos.  Taking that in stride, even the broken ones were on display.  I always look forward to answering the door in December because I know she and her family will be standing there with a plate of baked goodies.  All of this and one would never know the battle scars she has carried over the years.

 

By eight she had already been in therapy for being abused sexually by her biological father.  Her drama continued into an angry adolescence, a bipolar diagnosis, and 15 years of meds.  She truly understands that mental illness is in your head and one must be willing to confront the demons instead of run from them.  Through it all she is thankful for everything she’s been through.   She sometimes reflects on where she's come from.  Having gone through worse it strengthens her to keep moving forward.  There is always a godsend in our lives.  For Michelle it was her mother.  It was her mom who brought her to school with her for 2-3 months because she was suicidal.  She credits her mom for letting her and siblings be kids and was an active part of her childhood instead of it being separated.  This taught her how to pay attention to her own kiddos and explain to them what is happening around them. She says It enables them to be bold and ask questions.  Hello to her means friendship.  She said, “It opens you up to friendship.  It is a greeting to a new adventure.”  Through living she has learned that failure doesn’t define a person.  Her mom became the example she needed to propel her forward.   She learned that she can make it without; she learned about who she is and what she can do.  When faced with a challenge Michelle thinks about what she’s been through and having gone through worse she can do it.  Sometimes she posts beautiful pictures of the sky at dawn or at sunset. (originally posted 1/1/2015