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I think June is a great time to take an inventory of lessons I have learned in the year so far. Although cannot take credit for this revelation because I saw a post like this at ashleighwrites.co.uk. So, go ahead and give her blog post some love, HERE and come back! I liked her idea so much that I decided to do my own mid-year review.

Lessons Learned:

Loosing people you love is hard and grief doesn’t have a timeline.

In November of 2017, my best friend died after a 3 year battle with Stage 4 Breast Cancer. I gave her the morphine to help keep her comfortable as her husband and sisters gathered around her. It was one of the most excruciating and most amazing moments of my life. I had always felt honored to be her friend and I was honored to help her pass with the dignity she deserved. This year began with grief and some days are better than others. I miss her terribly every day.

Learning to prioritize helps ease anxiety.

I used to be able to take care of things without a second thought. Running errands, grocery shopping, grandkids ballgames, household chores… I could get it done! Now, I have to think about what I need to do and think about how many steps are involved in completing the task. I do not have the energy to accomplish a lot in a day and I used to get frustrated. Then my anxiety would rise off the charts. This has taught me to break it all down and accept what I can get done rather than focusing on what is still left to do.

Don’t wait for things to be perfect to check items off of the bucket list.

My husband and I have been talking about taking a trip to Washington, DC for at least 9 years. (Ok, I’ve been talking, he has been listening and he agreed. 😂) Something seemed to keep getting in the way if planning the trip. So, in spite of my health, we have planned it! Plane tickets purchased, hotel reservations made, Museum of the Bible tickets reserved…seriously planned! We are only planning to do 1 thing per day, taking a day with nothing planned but rest and I have already scoped out restaurants that serve food that I can eat. The trip is happening in September so be on the look out for a Travel Blog!

On good days, use your energy to spend time with those you love.

It is very tempting to use good health days to catch up on housework, laundry or errands. Lately, I have changed my attitude toward this. My husband spends most of his home time taking care of me and honestly, on days that I feel good we need me to be a wife instead of a patient. We will go out to eat lunch on a Saturday, we hold hands and look across a table at each other as we enjoy the meal. That simple thing has become precious to both of us. Our relationship is more important than that load of dirty towels and it is my priority!

These are a few of the important lessons I have learned so far in 2018. I think they are each really important and enrich my life.

Have you asked yourself what lessons you have learned so far in 2018?