Empowered by Illness

  I'm going to take a break from talking about illness and just write about something simple yet so complex....... Happiness.     Life is truly hard, even for individuals who do not live as we do, it truly is a struggle, day to day, week to week, sometimes even minute to minute. So in the struggles of everyday life where do you find happiness?  From philosophers to small memes, people have spoken of "The elusive happiness" as if it is one of the hardest things to find.  You look at social media and you see people "in their happiness" but that's not always reality. That is merely a flash of their hoping for happiness.  This is something I've contemplated especially for the last few days. This year has been one of the most trying and miserable years. I think everyone feels that way, unfortunately. This year, for some odd reason, it feels harder than most.    So, not only am I bringing this question to your attention I'm also bringing it to mine...

 Being a parent can be hard(to say the least).    When they're young the questions come a little bit easier. Why is the grass green or the sky blue? How do I brush my teeth? How do I tie my shoes?    I know with age the questions get harder. Why does that boy like her instead of me? What kind of deodorant do I use? Why do I get pimples? Why do I get bullied? How can I make more friends?    But how many parents can say their children ask "Why do I have to suffer? Why aren't there any answers for me? Why can't I just be a "normal" kid?"   As a parent one of the hardest things to watch is your child suffer and not have any answers.    These are questions my daughter and son both ask me weekly. How do I answer these aching questions, these torturous questions? She sits in pain everyday not able to function like a 13 year old, she just wants to go to school, run track, and play tag without her body telling her "NO, YOU CAN'T!" How do I comfor...