Today is the first of September. I remember growing up, September was always exciting for me. It was the kickoff (pun intended) to an amazing time of the year.
Back in my days, school never started until after Labor Day and you looked forward to it as a time to once again see all your friends. Oh sure, you had friends that lived close to you that you saw every day during the summer, but school brought back friends you hadn’t seen in a while. It also brought opportunities to meet new people and expand your circle of friends. It meant football games, independence and new experiences.
September was a prelude to the holidays. When I say “holidays”, I’m not including Labor Day. Although Labor Day meant a day off work for adults, it was a bit of a disappointment for kids. Yes, there were parades, but parades became boring and uncool after about the 3rd grade. Sometimes there were carnivals and fairs going on, but those also became boring, especially after losing the $5.00 you worked so hard for on a carnival game that was rigged against you from the beginning. Once in a while, there were picnics, but picnics meant you had to spend time with your family instead of hanging out and doing something cool with your friends.
To me, September meant it would soon be Halloween, a night to dress up and ransack the neighborhood of candy, collecting your bounty in a pillow case (yes, we actually used pillow cases back then). Half of the candy you would eat and half you would tuck away until sometime in January when it was cold, you were bored, and thought you needed the extra energy.
Soon it would be Thanksgiving. You enjoyed turkey, you could never really believe how much you ate and how tired you were afterwards. There would be football and movies and pumpkin pie. What you really looked forward to at Thanksgiving, however, was that it kicked off Christmas, your favorite time of the year.
I could go into all the traditions and pageantry of Christmas, but let’s be honest. Christmas was really all about presents. Baking cookies, decorating the tree, stringing Christmas lights was all fun, but nothing compared to opening presents. We were supposed to be patient and enjoy watching others open their gifts, especially the one we had given them, but the reality was Christmas didn’t really start until it was our turn to open our gifts.
Memories. That’s what I’ve described here. It’s the way life used to be. Things remembered were the things we enjoyed the most. Things change, however, and life goes on. So, while it’s good to enjoy our memories, it’s not good to become stuck in them. Life will never be like it used to be when you were a kid. You’re an adult now, times have changed, a new reality has set in.
Enjoy your past, live in the present, and look forward to the future.
What does this have to do with Myasthenia Gravis? Just like we can dwell too much on our memories, we can also dwell too much on what life was like before we had MG. We can become fixated on how wonderful life was when everything in our bodies still worked as they once did, but that was the past. We can dwell too much on what it was like to be healthy.
Remember it, enjoy it, be thankful for it, but live in the present.
The present for me is I am accepting my circumstances and focusing on making the most out of it. I’m focusing on how my positive attitude can not only help me, but also help others. I’m focusing on not letting MG beat me, not letting MG win. I’m focusing on the fact that although it can affect my body, it can’t affect my mind if I choose not to let it. I’m focusing on enjoying the day, no matter how poorly I feel. I’m focusing on accepting each day as a gift and trying to make the most out of it.
Ahhh, but what about the future? I don’t know what the future will bring. All I know is I have today to prepare and put myself in the proper mindset. I know the future could bring worsening symptoms, that’s why I go to the gym to exercise and keep my muscles working. I know the future will be so much worse if going in, my body isn’t in shape. I know that in the future, the mental battles I face will get tougher. That’s why today I’m working on making positive attitude a habit so I won’t have to think about it, it’ll just happen naturally, and I’ll be better prepared to fight tomorrow. I know that as MG progresses in me, I may become more dependent upon others. That’s why I’m investing in those relationships today. That’s why I’m letting my loved ones know how much I love them and appreciate them. That’s why I’m making deposits in their emotional bank accounts because the day may come when I’ll need to make withdrawals.
We can enjoy the past and not dwell on it. We can get the most out of today and not waste it. We can prepare for tomorrow and not ignore it. We can welcome the future and not fear it.
Our past, our present and our future all make us who we are. It’s up to us to make the most of it and live life to the fullest. Today is the day to start. September is waiting for us!