Got Quotes?

Oh how I'm looking forward to the weekend!

I feel like I have been going non stop the past 2 week and I am more than excited for a break. We have absolutely NOTHING planned. While I'm sure that will change there are a couple things I'm looking forward to.

Like sleeping in. While I love being busy I don't sleep well during the week. My dreams are too vivid for sleep to be restful. For example- a couple nights ago in my dreams Josh and I renewed our vows, then after that I was part of the Australian Mountain Biking team....

So on this long weekend, I'm going to sleep! And yes, I'm thanking Uncle Sam for giving me President's Day off, so I get a 3 day weekend. Oh wonderful sleep, here I come.....

I'm looking forward to snuggling with my hubby. He just bought Skyfall (the newest James Bond) and I am excited to have a movie night, relax, maybe have some popcorn, and watch this really good movie. (And if you haven't seen it, you really should. Much different from any other James Bond every filmed.)

I have been really touched by all of the kind responses I've gotten from y'all since I've started going to the support group. I'm going to continue to go, and to also use this blog as my voice. Maybe even strengthen others who are going or have gone through infertility. Here are some quotes that I found that totally sum up my feelings or are thought provoking. One of them especially struck me. Growing up, we all had preconceived notions of how our lives were going to turn out. I know my life is very different from how I thought it would be. I always wanted to be a mom. In my early twenties, I decided kids could wait and I wanted to be a career girl, travel the globe, and experience everything that I could. When I met Josh, my dreams changed. I wanted a career still, but only for a while. I started to think about having a family, being a mom, and my career picking back up when the kids went to school. Reality has a different idea. I'm in my late twenties and I'm a career girl. Haven't traveled too much. I still have a lot of time to experience everything I want to, I'm just impatient. I need to learn to enjoy the journey along the way....

Hope you enjoy the quotes!

"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."

-Joseph Campbell

"In all living have much fun and laughter, life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."

- Gordon B. Hinckley

"People cry, not because they're weak. It's because they've been strong for too long."

- Unknown

"You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have."

- Unknown

"It's hard to wait around for something you know might never happen;

but it's even harder to give up when you know it's everything you want."

- Unknown

P.S.- If you have a good quote, please share!

Validated

Last Thursday I took a huge step toward helping myself. It was terrifying. I tried to talk myself out of it and almost turned my care back around. But I didn't. I went to my first Infertility Support Group. I was SOOO nervous walking into that room, but it's the best decision I've made in a long time. Something that will actually help my emotional well being, teach me how to cope, and talk to women who know EXACTLY how I feel. Some had biological children, some had adopted, and some had none.

There were a couple of statistics I wanted to share. When I heard these, it made me feel validated. Validated with what exactly? Validated with all of my feelings- the anger, sadness, indifference, and frustration.

Did you know....

When given the diagnosis of infertility, the brain fires off the same emotional response as a cancer diagnosis.

Everytime there is a failed infertility cycle, the brain creates the same emotional response as a death of a loved one.

Probably didn't know the emotions were that strong or traumatic, did you? As I was listening to this, I had so many 'ah ha' moments where my own experiences and feelings clicked into place. It helped me to know that I wasn't crazy...far from it. Infertility is a hard thing to deal with. One thing that especially struck me was how many women suffer in silence. Out of the 11 women that were there, 4 of them admitted that no one- family or friends, knew they were struggling with infertility. They had been going through IVF cycles, and no one knew. (FYI- IVF is invitro fertilization, which is roughly a $10,000 procedure. Not covered by insurance and not a guaranteed pregnancy.)

I think I would have been committed a long time ago if that were the case. They spoke about coping mechanisms. Honestly one of mine is sharing my experiences. I think it helps to educate people, and prevents people from asking when we are going to start a family or other sensitive questions. And if they do, I take that as a chance to let people know what we are going through. Not to be mean, but to educate that this is something that doesn't have to be hidden. My heart ached listening to those women who are doing it alone. They say that it takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to love and support those who are trying to get that child here. Infertility shouldn't be shameful secret to bear alone.

Now that I've been to this support group, I can't think about staying away. To listen to others and share my experiences, this is one thing I won't give up.