It’s Time to Celebrate You

Views and opinions expressed in Bob’s Blog belong solely to the author and do not purport to reflect the views and opinions of the CAC Office on Aging or its staff. Posted May 24, 2022.

Here’s something I would like you to think about.

Do You Realize What You Have Done?

Knoxville, Knox County, the United States and the world experienced the worst pandemic anyone of us has ever seen.  You have come through it.

You were quarantined for months.  You wore face masks in public when you did go out. You had to keep your distance from others.

You weren’t allowed to get together with your relatives, friends and neighbors.

You handled all of that.

After that started to pass, along came shortages of food and many other items. You dealt with that.

Those shortages led to increases in prices. Those prices are still rising.

You Persisted Through All of It

You have made and are still making adjustments and are dealing with that.

You may not have thought about it deeply. You may not have realized it but you are unique. You have special talents and abilities you have used to deal with and get through all you have had to since the Covid-19 pandemic started.

Take a moment now and . . .

Celebrate Yourself

At various times in your life, others may have told you that you weren’t good enough. You would never amount to anything.

It may have been your parents. They never told you how good you were or complimented you for what you did.

They compared you to your siblings or others. They may have told you how others were better than you. They were better in school, in athletics or in almost anything and they wondered why you couldn’t be like them.

It may have been your friends. As you grew, they may have put you down. They didn’t include you in things you really wanted to do.

It may have been those cliques, you know, those in-crowds at school.  The ones the popular kids hung out in. They never let you in. At times they may have even made fun of you.

It may have been the first boy or girl in school you had a crush on. Unfortunately, he or she didn’t feel the same way. When you tried to talk to or do things with him or her, you were shot down.

It may have been your desire to get a better education. You wanted to go to college or a trade school. You didn’t because your family didn’t have the money to pay for it.

It may have occurred during your working career. You always did the best you could. Your bosses always complimented you for the work you did. Yet – when it came time for a raise or a promotion, you were looked over.

It may have been in your marriage. You always wanted a great marriage. You tried to love your spouse and give him or her all she wanted. However, he or she didn’t appreciate it. Your relationship struggled and it even ended in divorce.

It may have been with your children. You loved each one as much as you could. You always made every effort to give them everything they ever wanted. Yet, that wasn’t good enough. They always seemed to want more.

You Persevered Through Every Trying Time in Your Life

You did as well as you could. Regularly you were using the talents and abilities you have in every situation you were in. Even when things were the worst and you thought you couldn’t go on, you made it through.

Afterwards you thought about what you learned from the experience. You used what you learned to help others deal with the same type of experience when they were facing it.

Compared to some of those challenges you experienced earlier in your life, the pandemic, the recent shortages and the price increases may have just been a minor pain for you.

Take some time to look back over your life.

Look at All You Have Accomplished

Take Pleasure in All You Have Done

Look at how you exceeded your parents’ or siblings’ expectations and became far more than they expected you to.

Think about the work you did during your life and how you always tried to do as well as you could on every job you have had.

Reflect on your marriage and how you loved your spouse as well as you could.

Realize that you tried to be the best parent for your children you could be. While you may not have given them everything they ever wanted, you always were there to love them and support them in all they did.

Stop Right Now

Take some time. Appreciate all you have done during your life and the impact you have had on others.

Most probably you have seen the movie, “it’s a Wonderful Life. “You saw how life would have been if George Bailey hadn’t been born. Think of the hole that would exist if you had never been born.

Thank you for being the person you are. Thank you for all that you have done.

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If you have any comments on what you have read in this post, please email them to me. Also – if you have any ideas about subjects you would like to see discussed in future posts, please send me an email and let me know. My email address is bob.ooablog@gmail.com.