I'm a survivor and if you are reading this........

YOU ARE TOO!

I am alive, although sometimes I wonder 

how I survived the times

when Hillary was living on the street and 

I didn't know from one day to the next if 

I would get the dreaded call.

I'm not sure how I survived driving around looking for her

or pounding on the door of the last place I had seen her
praying that she would answer.

Every day a little piece of me died...…

Then recovery began, for her, for me and all those that loved her.

It was rough,
I don't know how I survived when 

every day I worried that she would relapse.

The look; was she using again, was she simply tired,

or was I imagining something

that wasn't really there.

When Ben overdosed upstairs while I was downstairs sleeping
I thought I would die.

I don't know how I found the strength to
 breath for him when he was blue
long enough for the paramedics to arrive.

I don't know how I survived when we watched him
in the hospital fighting for his life.....
entering treatment again, leaving to begin again

…….and
devastatingly having to face his passing
on March 8th, 2015.

All of us who loved Ben more than life itself
have continued to live;

including Hillary who is the epitome of what
a survivor looks like.

I have survived,
 she has survived,
 you have survived and we will continue to survive.

We are a family who love, lose and
keep on keeping on

We never give up,

We are survivors!


Lovingly k

Laughter is the best medicine

Facing addiction is not fun or funny. 

Facing anything that threatens to dull your 

life force is hard work.

All work and no play makes the work much harder

and the possibility of success becomes

that much more elusive.

Laughter is the best medicine,
here's why;

The sound of laughter triggers emotional
changes in the body.

Laughter reduces stress, anxiety and
depression.

Laughing causes your nervous system
to activate endorphins which send signals
throughout your body to boost your immune system
and alleviate pain.

Simplified Scientific definition of endorphins: 
Endorphins consists of two parts: endo- and -orphin; 
these are short forms of the words endogenous and morphine, 
intended to mean "a morphine-like substance originating 
from within the body".


The principal function of endorphins is to
 inhibit the communication of pain signals; 
they may also produce a feeling of euphoria 
very similar to that produced by other opioids.

At the lowest points in my life, 
I have done everything in my power
to find a way to laugh.
 It will not change my situation; 
what it will change is my perspective
and sometimes your perspective is all you can change.

lol

Look for opportunities to laugh every day,
I promise you it will help.

Iza is the pun-queen and knows exactly when one is
needed to brighten a situation; here's a few
to start your day:


What do you call a fake noodle?
an impasta 

I forgot how to throw a boomerang.....
then it came back to me.

Becoming a vegetarian is 
a huge missed steak.

Why don't the French order two eggs for breakfast?
because one egg is un oeuf. 
(this one cracked me up :)

What did the grape say when he was crushed...…
nothing he just let out a little wine.

It's always hard to explain puns to kleptomaniacs
because they are always taking things, literally.

ok one more

It's not that the man didn't know how to juggle,
he just didn't have the balls to do it ;)

Hopefully you got a little chuckle or
at least a distraction which is sometimes 
just what is needed to get through to the next moment.

I know it's corny
but you are a-maize-ing!

Prayers for a day filled with smiles and laughter
xox Kristyn :)