What it is

It is what it is.

I'm trying to focus on those simple words. It's so easy to get into the ‘what if' game. I know because I do that all the time! What if my fuzzy vision today turns into blindness tomorrow? Yikes! What if my pain levels increase? Oh no! What if I lose my job, what if my husband gets fed up and divorces me, what if the next time I stumble I fall on my face, what if, what if, what if!

Once I get started, there is no end in sight. I can worry myself into the fetal position. MS can do that.

I read an article on people dealing with finances in today's economy. The writer said the most stressful thing people are dealing with today is the aura of uncertainty. Will the housing market keep going down? Will 401ks recover? Where is a safe place to tuck one's nest egg? There are no answers and no credible predictions.

This made me think that everyone is getting to know what having MS is like. Pain + fear + uncertainty. It's not the issues I'm dealing with today that create my biggest problems. It's dealing with the uncertainty of tomorrow.

I'm ok with my depressed home value and my sickly 401k if I just knew this is as bad as it's going to get. Then I can plan for my future and feel in control of my financial future once again. I feel the same way about coping with MS. If I knew what tomorrow was going to bring, I could cope better.

But I can't, of course. All I can do is make myself stop the ‘what if' game. It is what it is. By that, I mean I can only focus on what is happening today. I haven't achieved this yet, but I'm working on it.