Remember my post from last week about being afraid to get in trouble and all that?
You're about to glimpse into one of the moments where I let go of that fear.
My senior year of high school was REALLY hard because I was REALLY sick and battling some significant demons all year. I had tons of medical testing, lots of medications, and several nights in the ER with my dad, not to mention just about every single night, I had a panic attack and long bouts of sobbing and crying with my parents due to anxiety around throwing up (I was nauseous every single night).
It was pretty hard on my whole family. Thankfully I kept my grades up and really had the best year of high school out of all of them, despite being very sick, losing a lot of weight, and having a ton of mental health and physical health issues.
I had gallbladder in-patient surgery scheduled for the day after graduation, so not a fun thing to look forward to, and I think my parents decided I needed a weekend to be a normal kid. My mom booked flights to Atlanta, and I embarked on my first and only plane trip (round trip), and saw my cousin graduate from high school (we are ten days apart), and then went to all the graduation parties and such with him.
I had gotten close to many of his friends, even though they were in Atlanta (his birthday is on New Year's Day, so his birthday party was always while we were there for Christmas), so I hung out with them and went to party after party.
We ended up at Walmart around 2 AM (yea, Walmart used to be 24 hours everywhere) playing Uno in the toy department on a Fischer Price Picnic Table. We were laughing a lot, but not disturbing anyone.
Then, suddenly three managers showed up and started yelling at us that we had to get out! We got thrown out of Wal-Mart. I was shocked; I had never had anything like that happen before! I didn't even know that was possible!
We ended up at Huddle House (Waffle House In the North) for a few hours until it was time to get ready for church. We laughed and laughed about how a bunch of church kids got kicked out of Walmart for playing Uno.
I am still thankful that my mom decided to make that trip with me; it was a whirlwind, but one of the best trips of my life. It gave me a chance to be a teenager in the midst of some very rough and dark times. It allowed me more time with my cousin and my grandparents. It gave my dad and sister a break from the turmoil surrounding me.
I was able to have my first flight with my mama, shaking and popping Immodium the whole time. No one else could have gotten me through that experience better; she loves to fly (as does my dad), and she took time to make sure I knew I was important and that there was more to life than illness.
Getting out of your head, seeing the bigger world around you, changing perspective, and doing things outside your comfort zone is essential.
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