Picking up the pieces

No one said it would be easy. We are far from perfect and we all must learn from experience and sometimes we make choices although they are for good intentions they may be very difficult to make but they may also be for necessity. When we encounter a period where we feel the rug has been pulled out from under us we have to regroup and forge ahead for that is how we learn and deal with adversity. We all will encounter this sometime in our life as we can not always have a perfect life. No matter how hard we try we will experience heartbreak and difficulty and we must rise above it. I am trying to stay committed to helping my son with his needs and want to spend as much time with him as I can due to his autistic diagnosis and his personal needs. I have to find a way to make a living and balance that with the responsibilities of maintaining a household and taking care of a special needs child. I want to provide a comfortable living for us as a family including my wife, son, mother-in-law and myself and also be able to spend the necessary time with my son and work in a fulfilling job that promotes promise for a bright future.

Sometimes we have to reassess where we are and decide how we can have a proper balance between work, family and personal fulfillment. We only have one life and we need to make the most of it. Our lives today seem to be filled with stress and we must learn to effectively deal with it and maintain inner peace and happiness. We all have to learn things as we go and meet people along the way. I have been very fortunate to meet so many kind and caring people in my life and it is very important that we recognize that because we all learn from one another and we find that our lives become more complete. In raising a family we are very lucky because we have found a bond with our spouse and when you add a child to the picture it makes our lives so much more fulfilling and complete. We always have to be positive in our outlook especially in front of our children. We teach our children through our actions and we must always be aware of that.

I am not always sure how we make things right for we do have to experience making mistakes along the way. As we experience success we also must experience disappointment and raising a child you need to teach them about life and the big picture. As we get older we also tend to become a bit more reflective and tend to think more and think back to how things used to be. There were times if I was having a difficult moment I could pick up the phone and call my dad. I don't have that opportunity any more and I miss those times but I try to think back to the times when I could and it brings a smile to my face. My dad always had a way to make me smile and he was a very kind and gentle person who had a lot of love in his heart and I truly miss that. The same goes for my mom as she was my inspiration as a young child and I looked up to her and my dad.

In life when we encounter these times of challenge we need to be strong and positive and find a way to look at the good in everything. It may not be so easy but if we can change the way we think to a more positive one we will be able to ride out the difficult times and learn how to bounce back and pick up the pieces. In picking up the pieces we are making a choice to remedy the situation and move forward. We all will have to make this choice sometime in our life and when we do we should always be prepared and willing to make it right.

To truly experience life you have to share it with others, you have to be able to say you took on the challenges and gave your best effort and you have to feel for living is having feelings and emotions. In life we will learn so much and we will always have chances and opportunities and we will always have to avail ourselves of those chances and opportunities.

Edward D. Iannielli III