The Optimistic Pessimist and Living With RA

I am on week six of my flare right now. I have spent the last three weeks watching my kids be dissappointed when their mom couldn't do anything fun with them. I see the desperation in my husbands eyes when I cry because I WANT to clean but can't. I hear the whispering and know that they wonder if I will end up back in bed with the covers pulled over my head wasting my life away with my pessimistic "my life is over and I am doomed to live the rest of it in severe pain" rountine. So I fight. Yes, my glass may be half empty...but that's only because my children are mischeviously stealing sips of lemonade from it. So I may be an optimistic pessimist, but that also makes me a fighter, and I AM okay with that!

So if you are struggling to stay positive, please know that you are not alone. There are may of us optimistic pessimists out there who are fighting to see the glass as half full. How many people do you know with rheumatoid arthritis that are positive ALL the time? I sure don't know any. I struggle with it everyday. So how do I do it, you ask? I spend everyday fighting the pessimistic side of me. I look around all day for things that will remind me how great life can still be with this disease. I watch my kids smile when they see me smile. And yes, I will smile throught the pain just to see them smile. But I am a fighter so I can handle it. My search for positivity continues everyday, after all we all have a choice in this...Is your cup half empty or half full? Good luck and best wishes!