Summer is coming to a close so quickly! Where did it go? It’s been such a busy summer that it just seems like the time flew by. Now in a couple of short weeks the kids will be back into school and before you know it we’ll all be dealing with Christmas shopping! I’m headed out to the lake tomorrow to get the last of summer. The valley is already starting to show signs of fall as we see some of the trees starting to change color. It’s been a really good summer for me in a lot of different ways. I’ve had the chance of course to see my family who I’d been really missing! The best part of the summer though has to be the fact that I am gaining control over my CRPS.

I’ve said from day one that I’m not going to let this disease rule my life or stop me from doing the things I want to do. As a result I’ve had a very productive summer with my camera. As some of you know I’ve been posting a few of those photos and I’m having a great time getting back into the photographers groove. For the first little while it was hard trying to adjust using my camera a little differently and not being able to do certain things, but that has all worked itself out. I can’t begin to describe the feeling that I get when I’m able to turn out a good picture!!

This post today though is about something that I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about. It can be so easy while we are dealing with our own health issues not to look at those closest to us. Today’s post is a personal one of sorts. Last year in our family not only where we dealing with my own health issues but with my wife’s as well. She had spent almost a year dealing with her own issue all the while taking care of our family. If that doesn’t show you what type of a person she is then I don’t know what does! She always seems to put the others in our family first before herself. As a husband I am the luckiest man in the world to have such an amazing wife.  Now that she is feeling great and has had her surgery I wanted to take this chance to say “thanks” for everything you do! I am so proud of you and even more proud to have you as my wife.

Those of us that deal with our CRPS don’t always stop and think about all the little things our spouse does to help us through each day. When your feeling a little extra pain and it begins to limit what you do, who do you think takes on all the extra work so that you can rest. When the kids are to much to handle who do you think takes on all the fussing and mussing that they do. We need to spend more time thanking them for all they do for us. If it wasn’t for everything that they do to help us cope and manage I don’t know what I would do. When I am dealing with my pain the first words out of her mouth are ” how can I help “. It’s this caring and loving heart that I fell in love with.

Often my wife has to wear ten different hats in this house, and we sometimes see that as just another day when it really isn’t. You may not intend for it to be that way but it happens. So it’s simple! Tell them  how much you appreciate the things they do for you every day. You are such an amazing wife, and an even more amazing mom to our girls!!!