This year has been almost like a blur for me. So much has happened in my own life and the world we live in it is hard to keep up. We are somehow only 9 days away from Christmas, which is supposed to be a happy holiday to celebrate with family but it also brings on so much stress especially when you are unprepared for it. It seems like we went from the grueling hot summer straight into chilly Christmas time. My favorite season is Autumn, but it did not stay around long. I know it has been said “Time flies when you are having fun”, but 2017 has not been all that fun so I have no clue where time went!
What do you feel is the true meaning of Christmas? Christmas for me has never been about the gifts we get but it is about the gift of love we are able to share with those close to us! So many seem to view it as a time to spend a ridiculous amount of money on gifts for family and friends, but forget that there is much more to it! There are so many in the world we live in that are not even able to have a roof over their heads much less gifts under a tree. There are children out there that not fortunate enough to have parents that love them enough to take care of their basic needs, like safety, food and warm clothes in the cold weather. Some are not healthy enough to enjoy the holidays and are not able to afford the proper medical needs required. Excellent and affordable medical attention seems like finding a unicorn underneath a rainbow, very unlikely!
My husband and I have been battling medical issues for several months now, but we are blessed enough to have each other during these difficult times. I find it extremely important to not dwell on what has happened but on what will happen moving forward. What occurred yesterday is in the past and it could have been a lesson learned to provide a better today! There is always room for improvements in our life if we just accept the changes graciously with an open mind!
With the holidays, the next few weeks at work will be shorter to allow family time. My office has a half day Friday, closed Monday for Christmas Day and then closed the following Monday for New Year’s Day! Hopefully with having 2 holidays in a row things will slow down at work and days will be nice and calm! I will be keeping my 6 hour work days through the new year so I do not have any set backs with my health. I am very aware that stress has been the main factor with the relapse I did have and for it taking SO long to heal, so I am trying my best to keep my stress low. I do find it hard to keep my stress levels low because life can be complicated and some days are harder than others! Honestly, I do noticed a dramatic difference in how I am feeling when stress gets high. Literally I can go from feeling relatively normal to horrible in about 2.5 seconds if I allow myself to get stressed. I guess the first step is acknowledging the issue and the second step in implementing a change to improve the problem! I have made it through the first step but get a little stuck on the second step.
I hope you are enjoying your weekend and you are not too overwhelmed by holiday planning! Remember to take time for yourself and know how important you are! Having the ability to care about yourself will allow you to take better care of those you love! Enjoy the rest of this beautiful Saturday and continue to be your positive and fabulous self! Much Love Y’all!
Always, Alyssa
Reblogged this on Survivors Blog Here.
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Sending lots of love and well wishes your way Alyssa! Enjoy the holiday season 😊 x
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Sending love and well wishes your way as well! Take care and enjoy the holidays!!!
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Such a lovely post today which makes us realise just how lucky we are, there is always someone better and someone worse off than ourselves. Christmas should be a time for seeing loved ones and accepting them for who they are. There is no point stressing about something that only lasts a few days. 🌹
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Thank you! I do agree with you, there is no point in stressing about something that only lasts a few days. Everything will work out the way it is going to no matter how much you stress!!! Take care and enjoy your weekend!!
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Happy Holidays Alyssa!
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Thank you! I hope you have a happy holiday as well!
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Lots of companies here are closed from Dec 23 till Jan 2 next year so I think you should move to Germany. What do you say?
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That would be great, I just do not speak German. I wish the companies in the US would close for that many days!
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I didn’t either. We learn so many things throughout our lives, why not another language?!
I wish you a nice and relaxing Xmas honey. Take care.
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Thank you so much! Just out of curiosity, how is the healthcare in Germany?
I wish you a very wonderful and relaxing Xmas as well! Take care Sweetie!!
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Very good. There’s a bunch of private health insurance companies. So, I’m sharing my hubby’s (he’s full-time employed at a company, which means they pay for all three of us). We don’t pay for any check-up, not even for a dentist.
Sometimes you have to pay some small amount of money for medicines (which are normally free of charge) or when staying at hospital. I remember paying some 80 EUR for 8 days, which is peanuts (less than 95 USD). However, I didn’t have to pay anything for 3 days at hospital after I got my baby.
All in all, I’m satisfied. No need to mention, they are all very polite and professional, the premises are great, and the food just amazing. You can choose what you want to eat. Imagine my surprise when I got rabbit.
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That is absolutely amazing! Insurance in the USA is not great and may continue to decrease. I pay so much a pay period for insurance and then have to pay a lot for doctor’s visits and the dentist. One appointment with a specialist is over $150 US$. Prescriptions are not horrible but they are still pretty high! Not to be negative but I think the healthcare in the states is pretty horrible, especially in comparison to other developed countries!
You ate rabbit in the hospital?
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That’s terrible, I know. I lived in Canada, where things are slightly better. Everyone is entitled to basic health care, excluding dentists. An appointment used to cost 200, sometimes 250 CAD if I’m not mistaken. However, there’s a catch. If you end up in a hospital, you have to cover all the costs yourself. Accordingly, since I didn’t have that money nor was I permanently employed with the company where I was working at at the time, they kicked me out after one night. Let me just say this, I had severe internal bleeding and my doctor in Serbia (where we fled right away) told me I could have died.
Here, on the other hand, you have everything. Rabbit and basically coffee, meat, bread, soup, yogurt and fruit of your choice. You get a visit from a nutritionist daily who makes your wishes come true. It’s like in a hotel.
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It is really sad how horrible healthcare is compared to what it could be. It seems the the pharmaceutical companies are just so greedy and care more about their bank accounts than human lives.
I knew there had to be a catch with Canada having free healthcare but at least it is better than where I am.
Sounds like you live in the perfect country!!!!
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Nowhere is perfect but when it comes to health care here, I’m more than satisfied.
Not only pharmaceutical companies are earning money but the government does nth to regulate the whole thing. It should be easy. A deal is made between companies and health insurance companies, and an amount of money is deducted from employees’ salaries for their health care. That’s why it’s free. On the other side, we have the unemployed, who live on social welfare, the ill, and so on who are all entitled to free health care. So, it seems to be working.
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I know nowhere is perfect but to me the US being “powerful” developed country should have been plans to care for those living here. Maybe they should take lessons from Germany. I think the biggest issue is the Government is very greedy and no amount of money is enough to fill their pockets. I am so glad things seem to work so well in Germany! I really want to travel and would love to visit Germany someday. I have a long list of places I would like to experience!!!!
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Yes, it’s the sad reality of the States.
I wish you a lifetime of travel and joy honey. Lots of wonderful places to visit in Europe.
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Thank you! You are a wonderful person and I wish you a lifetime of joy and comfort!!!! Much love my dear!
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Likewise. Hugs
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Bon giorno e buona domenica cara amica. Yes, holidays are a little stressful and our family members can make it worse sometimes but it’s part of our human endeavor: we can’t live alone. Forza!!!
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Families can be a blessing and a curse depending on who you talk to! Some of my family does cause stress but I do not have contact with most of those people. But I do have many blessings with that as well. I hope you are doing well!
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“A Dios rogando y con el mazo dando” is an old Castillian saying from the Middle Ages that resumes my hopeful yet defiant attitude in life. Fight on girl! We’re right by you! Un baccione. Arrivederci!
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The holidays are such a weird time for me. I both like and loathe them!
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That is how I normally feel as well but this year I just loathe them! Things have been such a struggle and now I just can not wait for the new year with hopes it will be better!
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