Success Through Failure + #MyPostMonday Linky -The Week's Best Original Content

Wow, what a week, month, and year this has been. With no sign of it really ending anytime soon! The thing that I've seen, though, is that people are so resiliant, so ready to try, so anxious to be their best selves, so determined to be happy, come what may.

And I just marvel! Some examples that have moved me in recent days:

1) The mom who was told in her teens that because of a severe case of PCOS, she would likely never have children. She beat the odds with fertility treatment once, twice, and then, when she thought her chances of ever conceiving again were gone, due to the sudden cancellation of her infertility treatments because of Covid-19, in her moment of darkest despair, there it was---the two lines of the pregnancy test. In disbelief they took the test 4 times with different brands of pregnancy tests. Of course, the journey isn't done, she had to endure a painful surgery just to keep the baby in her womb in a hospital all alone. But she has courage, she is pulling through and has profound hope that she will be the mom of a miracle baby in a few months!

2) A young mom of 5 beautiful kids, wife of the high school football coach, successful social media personality, and owner of a successful dance studio, gets the devastating news that she has AML Leukemia. Cancer. Serious. Lethal . Robber of joy. As she shares with everyone her ups and downs in a hospital room where noone is allowed because of Covedf-19 restrictions, she bravely keeps going with her live online sharing sessions, where she not only inspires us, but tells us how incredibly blessed she is. She then starts dancing in her room and does a hospital patient fashion show. It's the craziest thing. It's like she is trying to make us feel better when she is the one enduring all that suffering. She is still on her cancer journey and you bet, I'm right there with her, rooting for her and hoping that she'll recover. Some days are complete failures for h er--her blood count numbers go down, her symptoms intensify, and her husband and children can't be there with her. On top of that, she recently lost her mother, who was her biggest fan, and support system. She swears that she feels her mom there, being her guardian angel, orchestrating the care she can't be there to give. She gives an example: Before she knew she had cancer, through her dance studio she was able to help a little girl named Indy Lew, who was diagnosed with....AML Leukemia, the same cancer she now has. Indy Lew's mom has come to the hospital several times to help her, care for her, and give her encouragement because now Indy Lew is now healed, in remission and doing great! I wish @thetiabeestokes every luck on her journey, because she has helped make ours so much better!

Today's Complexities + #MyPostMonday The Week's Best Original Content

Today wraps up a mystery that has been in our minds here in Utah. On July 27th, a man went missing. He was a husband, a new father, and a son. What was interesting and notable about this was that his disappearance was surrounded by thousands of interested spectators and commentators. People came out of the woodwork to give their opinions as to why he was missing, what the family's role in his disappearance was, and who was to blame for his disappearance. As it so happened, the wife of this man happens to be a well-known blogger named Ashlee.
Well, the hate and rhetoric that was spewed out during the 18 day ordeal before they found him yesterday was...well, it was pretty unprecedented, calling her a phony, a fraud, and calling out false sightings of him with another girl, and everything imaginable. 

No, he wasn't perfect, no one is, and they had been through some really tough times during their marriage, including infertility and some other things that Ashlee had alluded to in at least one post, possibly two. But her strength and vulnerability were both bravely shared with any who wanted to follow along. She was authentic and a role model for those of us who wanted to use her as such. After all, in this world of Facebook and Instagram perfection, it was a little disconcerting to see someone's authenticity exposed so freely. Yet there it was. 

And when he disappeared, there were so many supporters and the haters, of course, wanted to tag along too. The story is still new, knowing only that his body was found in bad condition, floating in Mill Creek, found by employees of a business in the area.  We will probably never know what caused his death, now only suspected as suicide. What combination of events made him lose it? Or was it one single thing that he couldn't shake? 

Life today is so complex and sometimes it can really throw you. It necessitates being able to step back, and simplify the world as you know it, and prioritize what is most important and stick to it! 

My thoughts and prayers go out to Ashley and Paul, their love, family, and their new baby girl who will never have a chance to know her daddy except through others' memories. As I reflect on this tragedy and try to learn something from it, I will again refocus my own priorities and concentrate on simplifying my life. I won't feel guilty about it either. If my summer consists of staycations all summer long, I will feel happy because staying home is something I love. If I don't craft up my home on any given holiday, I will feel gratitude that I have eyes to admire the creations of others who have been able to do so. If I am not known as the one who reaches out to every single person I know in every social situation, then I will appreciate them in my thoughts and love them from afar and will do as much as I can, when I can. And I will keep those who matter close, oh so close!

 Today is "My Post Monday!" It's all about original content from bloggers who care to share what is on their minds--from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain!  I  open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks, believes, and knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up and share it with you here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag!  I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!  So, in addition, if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too!  I'll visit your site, comment, promote and publicize! (Affiliate links welcome!)