Being Grateful For The Journey

Tomorrow marks my three year anniversary with my J-pouch. I couldn't be more excited. I can't believe how far I've come. From the little seventeen year old girl, sitting in the children's hospital being diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, to the woman living, thriving, traveling, defeating Inflammatory Bowel Disease one day at a time.

It's so easy to lose track

With all of the things going on in the world today, everything on the news, the economy, the environment. It's so easy to lose track. Track of time, life, what's truly important to us. Sometime it's good to just take a step back and remember where you came from. Look at everything you've gone through. Just be grateful for the present. Live in the moment. Don't worry about everything and everyone else. Take some time for you.

Tomorrow I will be celebrating. I will be taking time out for me. Focusing on what's really important to me. Tomorrow I'll be making a list of all of the amazing things I once couldn't do because of my IBD, but now appreciate so much more.

My life is not perfect

I had surgery. It was a blessing. An amazing opportunity to have a second chance at life, but I am not cured. I never want portray my life as perfect or pretend to be something I am not. It's still a struggle for me, but I am so grateful for what it is because of everything it's been.

Almost everyday I wonder what my life would be like if I never had surgery

Where would I be if I still had my colon right now? Sure, things would be hard. A lot more complicated that's for sure. My colon was poison. My body wasn't healthy. But I'd like to think something would have worked out. I try to stay positive because there was once a time in my life when that just wasn't possible. I couldn't be positive because my circumstances were so toxic. I didn't have time to sit and day dream about better days. In my mind, there was no such thing.

Some say life is not about the destination, but the journey

I appreciate my journey. The destination is something to look forward to, for a while my J-pouch was the only destination I had in mind. But the journey, the journey is what makes it. It molds up into the Person We're Meant To Be. It can be hard to see, but the journey is actually just as important.

For a while the only thing I could think about was what my life would be like with a J-pouch. I couldn't wait. I begged my surgeon to operate before I was even (physically) well enough. I was in such a rush to get to this place in my life, I didn't even realize how fast I was moving until I arrived. I'm so grateful for where I am, but truth is there's life after the destination. Once you reach one destination, it's only followed by another. Don't get so lost in transition that you miss the ride.