It’s been a long hard week in our household and we’re only halfway through it! Today the workers came to start tearing up our basement, as if I needed the extra stress at the moment. In case I hadn’t mentioned last week we had a sewer backup and now everything that got covered in sewage has to be torn out. I’m doing my best under the circumstances but my pain level isn’t at a very comfortable level at the moment. It seems like if it isn’t one thing then it’s another! Like everything else though we’ll get through this. I’m choosing to look at this in a positive light and a blessing however onto today’s post.

Ok! On the best of nights my sleep isn’t all that good but last night crazy even worse with four high power fans blowing to dry out my now sanitized basement! I’ve heard of a little white noise but this is crazy! I tried writing this post last night but I was having one of those nights where my brain just didn’t want to put one and two together so I decided to try again today.

Today’s post is about self image. How do you look at yourself as you try and deal with your disability? I got thinking about this the other day because I was at a store when the cashier made a comment about my hand. Now for those of you that don’t know me my left hand is deformed and I wear edema glove to help with the swelling. I don’t need to get into the comment but it was the type of comment that could have made me feel bad about myself as I walked away. I get comments from people all the time and if I let them get to me then it starts eating at my self-esteem,  and before I know it I have no self-esteem at all.

When living with your disability you have the choice to rise up and not allow your disability to define who you are as a person.  I might have limbs that don’t work but that in no way stops me from being the person who I want to be. The person that appears on the outside is completely different on the inside. From the outside my body may seem broken, but on the inside I’m full of life and optimistic that I can do anything I set my mind to. It’s when you start telling yourself that your stuck in your disability, and that you can’t overcome your circumstances that you run into problems.

Am I saying that all circumstances can be overcome? That’s not what I’m trying to say at all! What I mean is that with an attitude to overcome you start believing in yourself and that you don’t have to be stuck within your disability. As a result you feel better about yourself and you don’t have to place quite so many limitations on yourself. It really comes down to making choices! You really do choose how your going to face your disability. I have really only touched the surface of what I want to say in this post so I’ll save the rest for part two!