CP Day!!!

Dear Reader,

Today I wear green for a very special reason! Nope, I haven’t got my days wrong and doing this for St. Patrick’s Day. Nope, I haven’t converted my favourite colour to green, it is still very much rainbow (though I could be just repping one of its colours just because, but it’s not that either). I am seen in green today because it’s Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day!

For those who don’t know what the heck Cerebral Palsy is, I described it as something that means my movements are a little uncoordinated . Why? Well I don’t really like the ‘why’ very much as for some, this can spark a spiral of stories in their mind when they hear the phrase ‘Brain Damage’ and don’t hear or ignore the rest of the sentence. Also another reason why I haven’t wrote about CP in this way before is because to me this bit is kind of irrelevant as you know the damage has sort of…already been done…I think that is the saying anyway! But as it is CP awareness day, I will try to explain quickly!

Yes, CP is a result of brain damage, which that occurs before, during or after birth or in childhood, and has an impact on the part of the brain that is responsible for a person’s movement and coordination. This, therefore, has an impact on one’s physical ability. The symptoms and severity of CP varies from person to person, so I can only write about my experience which will definitely be different, if only slight, from someone else. For me, as said earlier, my movements can be shaky, slow and CP can also throw in a few unwanted moves now and again. With this, there is also one huge give away when I am a little anxious about something – I am a more wobbly than usual (shaky Sallie X10!!). Sometimes my muscles can be stiff especially on my right side of my body therefore can be hard to complete tasks with my right hand, therefore I tend to do almost everything with my left. Also, as if CP hasn’t stole enough limelight-still at least it’s in keeping with its colour-, it means that the group of muscles controlling my speech also moves  a little different to someone without CP, so as a result my speech is a little impaired. This aspect in particular I do find hard sometimes even now, though my speech as improved a lot. Whenever I get into a fluster I try to spin my perspective to something more helpful and a little more positive- not many folk can get to be heard twice or more!!!

It is so so important for people with CP or with any other obstacle, for that matter, not to be defined by them-it is something you HAVE it is NOT you!!! The worst but empowering, in retrospect, stages CP is when one is a child and a lot of doubt is around about their abilities. My parents were told I would never sit up, when I was very young, but a few years after they were told this I could even take a few steps. All the ‘no’s’ I got given about being able to achieve certain things I was , with the support of my family, able to show to myself that I could. It is sooo essential to only have those around you who believe otherwise, who believe in you. With this, another thing to remember is that no matter what anyone says you can turn around and write your own story!! You can rebrand parts of you challenge to make it a little easier to manage or comprehend. For example if I’m walking with someone and happen to stagger, I may say something like “Yep, I’m showcasing my dramatic ballet again.’ By doing/ thinking like this it make things a little lighter.  Or if I am having a day where I feel that I am going a little more slowly, I try to remember that everyone0 is meant to go at their own pace as a streak of comparison tries to creep in! Life hacks are sometimes just needed!!

Over the last few years since writing to you, I have become more open and been able talk more easily about my CP.  In addition, I have also been able to learn things about CP from others that have resonated with me. Even though there are many down sides to social media, this is a big up; connecting with others who have experienced similar things to you is invaluable and, furthermore, you feel less alone. Days such as these are important as it highlights and builds awareness around a particular cause or condition of something that one may know little about. Writing parts of this has been hard. There are areas of my disability I still find difficult to express. But this is another vital factor about awareness days- they can be reflective and as a result alleviate some heaviness around certain thoughts.

Putting together my outfit for CP Awareness Day has been so very fun and this is how life usually can be, which can be easily over looked. Days like today, though it brings about awareness about a condition, they also allow one to realise that there is a lot more to a person than their diagnosis!

Here’s to CP Awareness Day!

All my love XX

Be Proud of Yourself

✨?✨ Happy Magic Monday my Fabulous Ones ✨?✨

Being proud of ones self is something I continually strive for! It used to be something I would run from and think of all the opposite things… very unhelpful! But now I am working on being proud of myself, it’s a very healthy quality to have!!

Who’s with me? Let’s kick off this week by finding things in ourselves we are proud of!???

Lovely illustration by @littlearthlings

Never Give Up

✨? Happy Magic Monday my Fabulous Ones?✨

This is a reminder from the brilliant @emilycoxhead that you ARE valued in the world. Never ever give up.???✨

Moving out of your comfort zone

✨? Happy Magic Monday my Fabulous Ones?✨

It’s always good to try things not in your comfort zone as you never know the outcome even if you think going know!

As part of my cerebral palsy my right hand is not as good in completing tasks. It becomes even more stiff and movements are then more involuntary. Because of this my left hand became my default hand to use.

For a time now I have been trying to use my right hand more. One of the ways that I trying to exercise my right hand is through painting ???

Never doubt you can’t improve because you CAN

Make Room For Your Challanges

Dear Reader,

Here we are just over a month into 2019, a sense of newness is around, resolutions have been made and we are all willing for changes. This time of year I have never been a great fan of, anticipation is heighted about what could be before us, there is a force to do greater, to do better, be fit and healthy, to implement visions and get all of the above done now… or if your anything like me a minute ago!!! These are more than enough thoughts to handle before we turn towards looking at judgement passed by others, talking among themselves having a classic mothers meeting, with the top topic of the agenda being whether ‘she has stuck to what she committed to doing ’. Well, forgive my ignorance (or don’t), but it is clear to see what these people have committed to and sadly are not about to break this anytime soon!! However, we, on the other hand, can keep on being out fabulous selves, trying and trying again to do our best!!

The tittle of this blog post, Make Room For Your Challanges, is one that at first glance my stir up negative emotions, be confusing and may even say it’s a slight contradiction to what I continue to say to you-but it’s not, don’t switch off just yet!!

I like to think that by now you know that I’m not one to back down and run from a challenge, if anything it makes me more determined to face it. This year I have, like many, made promises to myself, some which are the classic –be more healthier- and some are more personal to change some of my thinking habits to have a little more positive energy and to do things rather than day dreaming of things that ‘would it be nice’ . For a couple of Sundays now I have tried to plan my week ahead (in none other than a fabulous unicorn diary!!) in order to get my thoughts/ideas on to paper and make a plan- if I don’t, I try to do everything at once and so the absolute opposite happens: nothing gets done or a little of a few tasks get done but no one thing gets complete!!

The downside to planning things is that some time when plan, we plan in accordance to a ‘perfect’ day, week, month…. But what happens if things don’t quite work out the way you envisioned? What happens when not so pleasant things happen or we lose our mojo or we just didn’t give ourselves enough time needed? Well, most likely what we do when that happens is we scrap the plan completely, maybe mull over why things have turned out the way we want it to and wait for another ‘perfect’ day to start again!. As I have mentioned to you once or twice before that as part of my Cerebral Palsy I experience tremors, which varies from day to day, and this can have a knock on effect on what I am doing and therefore slows everything down, which, you guessed, leaves a very dissatisfied me! I think this feeling of deflation comes, at times like this, from not being able to fulfil the intentions I had for that day, week or month and leaves that thought of ever being on that treadmill with oh so much to do!!

Even though we like to kid ourselves that we can go 100mph, sometimes it is just not possible and it’s kinda isn’t healthy. This is why to me we should make room for our challenges. This does not mean that we are being defined by them but we are working not to be defined by them. When we move a stretch too far and work against our challenges this can cause us to slip one too many steps behind, we become irritated and come to the conclusion that it is better to give up. However when we take into consideration our hurdles and what that could imply, we can move forward encompassing moments of when our obstacles may show their face without being held back by them. It is from here we can make permanent changes to help fulfil our visions.

Acknowledge your challenges, get to know them and make time for them, instead of letting your challenges ruling you!! How are you going to make room for your challenges??

All my love XX

Your Ability

✨?✨HHHaaappy Magic Monday my Fabulous Ones ✨?✨

Today to kick off the first Magic Monday of 2019 I am sending you lots of positive rainbows happy vibes from my heart to yours???

My Fabulous Ones you CAN do ANYTHING you want. No matter how crazy your wishes seem, there not crazy at all simply because you have formed that idea. Somewhere in your heart there is faith. Let that faith out shine fear. Ignore the naysayers who say you can’t. You ability isn’t defined by what you haven’t got it is determined by what you have and what you focus on.

My Cerebral Palsy doesn’t determine my ability my courage does; my courage to be resilient to try and try again . My courage to ignore doubt of others or even the sceptic that can creep up within me.My courage to ask for help when needed. My courage to be curious to find out the answer to the question ‘what if?’

What determines your ability? ???

Photography @mermaiidmairead

It’s The Little Things

✨?✨ Happy Magic Monday my Fabulous Ones ✨?✨

It’s the little things that can bring so much joy to you day and can give you so much encouragement ? @emilycoxhead happy jar is filled with positive notes and can be little pick-me-ups especially on those days that don’t feel that magic. These are the first two notes I have picked out. I get so excited every time I pick out a new one ✨Thank you so much @mermaiidmairead for this beautiful gift???✨

You Are The Creative!!

?✨? Happy Magic Monday My Fabulous Ones ?✨?

Have you ever felt rebellious? That you want to rip up the rule book? Well if your anything like me the answer would be yes, but making a noise seem hugely frightening. Doing something that you fear means you should do it all the more! There is no right way do things (only when making tea-water before milk guys there is no other way ??). Seriously though how you do things should only feel right for you.

This Monday start making your happiness a priority ????✨

Girls Just Want To Have Fun!!!

Hello Reader,

How long has it been since posting something in ‘Let’s Thrive’? Only in like forever ago! I know the last couple of these posts have started like this, but you have not been far from my thoughts! Today I just want to talk about having a little fun!!

People that know me well, will know that I love to laugh lots and seek enjoyment wherever I can. A few months back, some of these lovely humans organized an afternoon to play the real life ‘Where’s Wally?’ as well as ‘Where’s the Unicorn?’ and ‘Where’s the clown?’ We all had to wear some snazzy head gear and go and hide in a park. This time was filled with lots of laughter, good vibes and FUN! Moments like these are just as, if not more, important than adult life that sometimes can get a little much! While we there enjoying as my dear friend would say ”getting Ninja” sneaking behind trees and running to dodge our spies, we did get some strange looks at our head gear while other just laughed with us. The sad thing is the having fun and letting your inner child take control for a while, gets overlooked and the very idea of moving away from the ‘altogether woman’ that people see you as, or this persona that you put out into the world is terrifying; letting yourself been seen in another light sometimes can the hardest thing you can do- you have even less control than you did, or thought you did, before.

But, does it ever get boring? Does staying in your beautifully arranged, clean cut box ever grow tiresome? Do you ever yearn to mess up sometimes, so that you can take off and be free?
We make ourselves feel pressure and that we ought to have a handle on things all of the time. The truth is though we don’t. We think we do, but we don’t. Taking everything so seriously takes away possibility, takes away that gap between you and the thing that you are obsessing over. The gap needed to feel you! I am a self-confessed over thinker and at times it can get in the way and you guessed it, stops all this fun that could happen

I am writing this to say to you, and to remind myself, to get adventurous, get messy and be free. Life is way too short to be unhappy, to carry unwanted weight, to only let the fun you wish you were having to live out in your mind. Start now, even if it means splashing in a puddle when’s no one looking, watching a clip of your favourite comedian, singing one of you favourite guilty pleasures or trying…. to walking like a penguin (dude, its fun!).

I hope you will let yourself have a little more fun and when doing so not judge yourself for it. I would love to know how you will get in touch with your inner child!

All my love XX

Heartbeats

?✨? Happy Magic Monday ?✨?

This is a little note just remember to always go with the rhythm of your heart ??✨