Here in the US we assign months to causes. October is known for Breast Cancer Awareness,Down Syndrome Awareness, Rhett Syndrome Awareness, Pregnancy Loss and Infertility Awareness, Domestic Violence Awareness… That’s a lot to cover in one month. It is crazy to me that I know at least one person who has been effected by each of these things.

I have been personally effected by two of them. Without surviving a violent first marriage, I would not be who I am today. I would not be a fighter.

I have debated doing a blog post on either of these topics. After all, neither actually has much to do with my life with the blessings. Right? The more I have reflected, the more I know that isn’t true. So, I’ll be creating a post on both of these topics this month.

We all end up not the sum of our experiences but the product of how we use them.

October leaves me feeling raw and full of emotions. This bugs me because I love fall. Actually, I wait all year for October to December to happen. I love it! The weather, the air, the smells. How do I reconcile the love with the pain? Having recently gone through labor, I’m guessing it is because the love that I feel overcomes any stress this month brings.

We each have stressors. We each have those things in our life that cause us pain. I’ve gone through a lot of therapy dealing with mine. I’ll work hard on these posts to present information without leaving you feeling miserable at the end.

Let this serve as a trigger warning.