My precious boots!
WordPress Daily Prompt: These Boots Were Made for Walking Tell us about your favorite pair of shoes, and where they’ve taken you. Photographers, artists, poets: show us WALK. Already blogged about my favourite boots on April 1st, 2013, so for those who want to read it, here’s the link: Iconic and Princesses and Docs I’m one day late replying to this Daily Prompt but just wanted to showcase my Dr Martens boots again. I know… just can’t get enough of them!
It’s OK not to be OK
Chronic pain. Those who have it, can’t wait to get rid of it. Those who don’t, often do not understand what is going on in people’s bodies filled with chronic pain 24/7. Not to reminiscence too much about the good old days – those where the pain was not a constant, unwanted house guest – but I cannot remember what living without pain was like. Waking up feeling jolly, not a single bout of pain stabbing my face, being able to keep my balance on my way to my bathroom, high energy levels… All this was abandoned long ago, and even after 8 hours of sleep, I just can’t remember what life felt like. Healthy people often take their fitness for granted; they don’t question their bodies underperforming for a…
Five-year plan
Bad tidings always happen when you least expect it. Your plans for tonight, next week or the following year get punched right in the stomach and you have to regroup. Not only does rearranging your life involve more people than just yourself; your family, friends and colleagues need to find out where you and your plans will eventually fit in. Parameters of life get reset and the future-plan question during your last job interview pops back in your mind: “Where do you see yourself in five years from now?” I truthfully replied that I had aspirations of climbing the corporate ladder and that I wanted to combine this with studying. This was the interview that would lead me to live in Ireland and I ultimately worked in the company for…
MS: lesson in minimalism
Can I let you in on a little secret? It’s something meaningful and I’d like to share it with you. Before getting all philanthropic and philosophical, having multiple sclerosis is not a nice thing. Or a happy thing. Not when you’ve just been diagnosed. It’s a long road to acceptance. In between hearing ‘You have MS’ and saying to yourself, ‘You know what, I am OK with that’, you will find yourself falling over (sometimes literally), you will feel awful because of side effects of your medication, and you will sometimes curse at your body’s lack of accomplishments. Being diagnosed is definitely something you never thought would happen to you.
My Mum
My mum is my best friend, my backbone and my reason d’être. She’s strong despite having lost her first-born, her second husband, her dogs and much more. She’s risen like a phoenix from her ashes and every day I am more proud of her. Every day she shows that life goes on, that there is always light at the end of the tunnel and because of that, I love her so much. When growing up, my mum gave me time and space to spread my wings and to find myself. Because of her, my ten years living in Ireland became a dream-come-true and she supports me every single day. We’ve travelled around Ireland many times and I hope to add many more trips to this and if she’s not in…
Love
WordPress Daily Prompt I Want to Know What Love Is We each have many types of love relationships — parents, children, spouses, friends. And they’re not always with people; you may love an animal or a place. Is there a single idea or definition that runs through all the varieties of “love”? Dedication. Commitment. Affection. Compassionate. Hope. Acknowledgement. Loyalty. If these words scare you… just love. Love yourself, love others. Love whatever makes you strive for more and everything else will fall into place. © Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me, 2011-2013. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given…
Patience and persistance
Patience and persistence are key when you first start blogging. Why you want to write publicly is totally your idea, how you do so is by using WordPress and its many users’ intelligence. Almost 2 years into my blogging adventure, I still find it an amazing tool to get your voice heard. When I started blogging, I simultaneously wrote on Blogger as well as on WordPress, just to find out what was the perfect tool for what I wanted out of my blog. After blogging on both for a while, I became very dissatisfied with the lack of settings Blogger had in comparison to WordPress. The choice to drop my Blogger profile was an easy one to make, and to this day, I am still amazed at what WordPress offers…