A YEAR OF CHANGES
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| Spending Labor Day at Elephant Butte Lake with my family. Wearing PrAna Cozy Up Sweatshirt and Cozy Up Pants |
Change….we all go through changes in life. Some good, some not so good. But if you’re like me and suffer from
anxiety, even good changes can be stressful.
I am a very routine-orientated person, so anything out of the norm
causes my anxiety to skyrocket.
If you read my last blog post, or if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you already know
that 2018 has definitely been a year of changes for myself and my family. Here's a recap: My husband was planning on retiring from the
Army next year, and we thought we were settled for good in our home in
Pennsylvania. It turned out that the
Army decided it wasn’t done with my husband yet. He was selected for Sergeant Major on his
first look – something we didn’t expect at all.
While this is amazing, and really should not have surprised me at all (because
my husband is an outstanding soldier), it unfortunately meant that we had to
give up everything that we had planned for our future.
- Growing old in our house on Village Square Drive.
- My husband finding a job at the base he was stationed at after retirement.
- Watching our children graduate from the same high school we graduated from.
- Living near family to enjoy holidays and other get-togethers.
When a soldier is selected to be a Sergeant Major, he/she
is required to attend a year of school in El Paso, TX before being
promoted. If my husband turned down the
promotion, he would have been forced out of the Army without receiving any
retirement benefits. After serving 18+ years in the Army, there’s no way we would consider just cutting our losses. Unfortunately, that meant that we had to
uproot our family across the country. My
son is attending a new school his junior year and will unfortunately need to
attend another new school his senior year.
We had to sell our “forever” home, and we had to say goodbye to the
future we thought we were going to have.
Less than a month before we moved, my sweet little toy
poodle, Teddy, passed away unexpectedly.
He was my little sidekick/shadow for 10 years. He sat on my lap as I worked all day, and
when I was watching tv, he would be right next to me. I couldn’t even use the bathroom without him
following me and laying down next to me.
So my heart was/is broken. I thought
we would be making this huge move together (as we have done several times
before) but instead, he was gone – just like that. I started to write a blog about him, but it’s
been 4 months in the making. I just can’t
bring myself to finish it, it still hurts that bad.
We ended up getting another toy poodle 2 weeks before we
moved. A puppy….to drive cross-country
with….yes, we’re crazy. I thought
getting him would help ease my pain, but it didn’t. I love him to pieces and can’t imagine my
life without him, but nothing in this world could take away the pain I feel
after losing my Teddy.
Just a few weeks after arriving in El Paso, my grandmother
had a stroke and eventually passed away.
I can’t explain how awful it is to be away from your family at a time
like that. I wanted nothing more than to
be there for my mom, but of course, flights were 3 times as much as normal
during that time of year, and I couldn’t make it happen.
I’ve been having a major pity party for myself due to all of
the negativity and changes that have happened over the past few months. But then, I was given the opportunity to be a
part of PrAna’s campaign – Clothing for Positive Change. And it got me thinking – yes, there have been
some horrible, awful changes over the past 4 months. But there have also been some really great
changes, and it’s those changes that I need to focus on.
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| PrAna Cozy Up Zip Up Jacket |
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| If we didn't move, we would have never experienced our Labor Day Trip! Outfit: PrAna Cozy Up Sweatshirt and Cozy Up Pants |
For one, the selling of our house went smoother than we
could have ever imagined. We made some
decent money which allowed us to pay off our credit cards and have a savings to
fall back on (which will likely be blown on cheer expenses this year). We also survived a week-long trip from PA to
TX (with a puppy and a girl on crutches) and got to experience places we never
would have if it weren’t for this move.
My daughter has settled into her new cheer gym, and both
kids seem to be settled into their new schools.
This cheer season is also going to be a whole new world for us. Lots of travel, and all by plane. Not to mention that it will likely just be me
and my daughter traveling without my husband and son. Again – not great for the anxiety, but we’ll
make it through. I’m actually really
excited for this, because we will get to go explore some more places we’ve
never been, and we get to attend competitions that will likely be a once in a
lifetime opportunity.
While I lost my best friend (Teddy), I wouldn’t have Max (my
new puppy) in my life if Teddy was still here.
Everything happens for a reason, and Teddy was meant to be in my life
for the exact amount of time that he was.
He showed me unconditional love.
And I loved him just the same.
But Max was meant to come into my life when he did. While I can’t say I understand why Teddy was
taken so suddenly, I keep reminding myself that Max needed us – and we needed
him.
I am learning, albeit slowly, that trying to find a positive
out of a negative not only helps me to feel more blessed on a regular basis,
but it helps to ease my anxiety tremendously.
Because of this, I find myself wanting to continue to seek out even more
positive changes.
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| Counting my blessings on a cooler El Paso Day in my PrAna Cozy Up T-Shirt and Cozy Up Pant |
I have learned that not only should I focus on the positives
of the changes that have come with this move, but I also need to focus on how I
can change other parts of my life for the better. Making positive changes will only help me to
be a better person, which in turn, will make me feel better.
Here are just a few things that I think will
help:
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| Playing with my boys in my PrAna Cozy Up T-shirt |
- Start using less plastic by using my refillable water bottles more in place of plastic water bottles.
- Enjoy nature more instead of sitting inside the house all day. I can do this by taking breaks throughout the day (I work from home full-time), even if it’s just for a 5-minute walk, or a 5-minute play in the backyard with my dogs.
- I plan to be more mindful of what I put into my body (I recently discovered how horrible the ingredients were in my go-to protein shake). My husband and I both lost weight within a week of ditching the shake (and no, it was not muscle loss). I switched to a different one and have also limited how often I drink it. I tend to eat a lot of protein, so the extra shake isn’t always necessary. I have made huge changes in my diet over the past 7 years, and I know that by continuing on that path, it will only make me feel better.
- Thanks to PrAna, I can be more mindful of what I put ON my body. I had no idea how my clothing choices could have a negative or positive effect on the environment. By joining PrAna’s Sustainability Movement, I am helping to reduce the impact on our environment by purchasing their organic cotton and hemp grown clothing. I have been wearing PrAna clothing for a couple of years, and I honestly don’t have any other clothing that fits better or feels more comfortable. I was lucky enough to be sent their Cozy Up line, and I am obsessed. The sweatshirts,pants, and t-shirt are soft and unbelievably comfortable. I don’t know about you, but soft, comfortable sweats are a staple in my Fall and Winter wardrobe. Especially since I work from home and have the option to dress as comfortably as I want to. Are you looking to make some positive changes? Reconsider where your clothing comes from, and take advantage of a 25% off discount at www.prana.com by using the code SBEAprAna25.
- Walk to the gym instead of driving. It’s less than a 10 minute walk from my house to the gym. By choosing to walk, I am not only helping myself, but I will be helping the environment as well by reducing pollution. Sounds like a win win!
- I have really been trying to focus on talking myself out of an anxiety attack. I’m learning to ask myself if 1. Will it kill me? And 2. How likely is it that something bad will happen in this situation? Usually, the answers are “No” and “Not likely”. I am learning to point out to myself that the stress and worry over certain situations just isn’t necessary. One of my major anxiety triggers is driving, usually in places that I’m not familiar with. I am learning to talk myself down by telling myself that I have my navigation on my phone, and that the worst thing that will happen is that I will have to reroute if I take a wrong turn. While it will be annoying, it is not the end of the world, and I most certainly will not die from it. I recently had to do this when driving my son to the airport for the first time. Believe it or not, it actually helped. There was, however, no talking myself down when he was on a plane by himself. I just had to ride that anxiety attack out……
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| PrAna Cozy Up Zip Up Jacket |
Regardless of any changes that I make, I know that I will
have days that will be hard over the next 8 months. And again, over the next few years as we
continue to have to uproot. But by doing my part to try my best to be better, I
hope it will make me a happier, healthier person and will allow me to see that
there is beauty in all things. Sometimes,
I just may need to dig a little deeper to find it.
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| Having some fun in my PrAna Cozy Up Zip Up Jacket |
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| Being able to have some arm balance play is a major plus with my PrAna Cozy Up T-Shirt and Cozy Up Pant |
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| I love how PrAna packages their clothing! PrAna Cozy Up Zip Up Jacket |
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by prAna. All opinions are my own.
