My Bipolar Life

December 31st on the year that I thought was going to be the big year that changed my life.......and you know what?  It did, some for the better and some for the worse but my life has changed A LOT since January 1, 2013. Where to begin?? That I don't even know, quite honestly.  I guess I will begin with the best change of the year.  Dan and I did it.  We went back to school and we are on the Dean's list.  I am very proud of us, this was a long time coming and something that we needed to do for ourselves and our kids.  Dan is studying Golf Enterprise Management and I am studying Criminal Justice.  We also got new jobs and are succeeding at that.  In three years when Dan graduates (and Jamie graduates) we are taking Ella and moving to a warmer climate. On to the rougher things that have happened....................  Well Christeen and I are in a battle for our lives.......literally.  You would think that there was some sort of trophy for who could be sick more often and mos

Tonight the angels took someone I love.  My Great-uncle Pete, who I believe most of us called Uncle Peach, passed away; he was 94 years old.  Many will tell me that he lived a nice long life and for that I should be grateful, but quite honestly for now, at least, I just want to be sad.  Sad for myself, sad for my Aunt Ev, his wife, and sad for my extended family who live in Cleveland and will miss him on a more day to day basis. I have many fond memories of him and they all revolve Aunt Ev's famous tuna salad.  You see, I lived in Cleveland for about a year in my late teens.  I worked at the mall just up the road and would often go to their house and eat lunch with them.  It was tuna salad for lunch and  The Young and The Restless (I don't know how we suckered him into that daily.) on th TV.....always.  He and Aunt Ev were just always so happy to see me and were always proud of me, even maybe I didn't deserve anyone having pride in me.  For that, I will always be eternall

I think I jinxed our family by calling 2013 our year so I am changing the name but I will still continue to write about our challenges and successes as we navigate through 2014. Lisa

This t-shirt is about sums me up and it couldn't be more hilarious that my sister, Natalie, bought this for me for Christmas.....BEST GIFT EVER. (And this is the same sister who bought me a $300 purse for my birthday) but hey, I digress.  I guess it is really isn't about material things with me but with smugness and being better than others on a deeper, more intellectual level.  LOL On a more serious note, my Christmas Eve was really, really nice.  I spent time with my family who truly and deeply love me.  I got to know my new brother-in-law a little bit better and that is a gift in and of itself.  I had food to eat and those to share the meal with, some are not so lucky.  I received beautiful gifts but it was more than that, it was the fact that people put serious thought into what I might like and got it for me.  Luxury items that I would NEVER buy myself.  That too is a gift.  My Christeen is out of the hospital after a stay in ICU and that is a gift.  I made it throu

This Christmas eve, I am going to write a Christmas card newsletter, you know the guilty pleasure that you all love to receive in the mail because they are a fun and entertaining way to catch up. I am going to do more of a roast of The Pokrzywa/Zadel familes so here goes..... Starting at the top.... Ted and Ruth are blissfully enjoying retirement.  They have found many friends within their apartment complex where they have a monthly luncheon which I know is just an excuse for them to go and day drink.  But what can I say, when you are in your mid 70's, I think you are entitled to a little day drinking every now and then. My mom and Al are still happily living together with Chuck, the cat.  Al retired after many years as a firefighter and has had several surgeries and for the most part he is recovering from the surgeries nicely.  One of them was actually quite rough and he has one more to go.  My mom is looking forward to retiring next year.  I assume that she will be enj

This week I received a phone call that no one wants to receive.  One of my best friend's children had passed away in a tragic accident.  She was 24.  Sarah like me was bipolar and in someways we connected over that in years past but quite honestly, I hadn't seen her in quite a few years; only getting periodic updates on her from my friend, her mom.  Sarah like most bipolars was brilliant and wise beyond her years.  She had a gift for lighting up a room even when she didn't neccissarily feel that light coming out from within herself. In her short life, Sarah lived many lives.  She traveled, she studied new things, she made new friends but yet remained friends with ones from when she was younger.  She lived life to the fullest everyday and I hope in someways her family can find comfort in knowing that her short life was as a full as 24 years could possibly be.  She was loved as she shared her life with a special someone.  As a parent, my biggest wish for my children is love