I have been writing these messages for six years now, that’s over 800 separate posts talking about how my life as a CarePartner is going. More than 200 times I have talked about gratitude, thankfulness and appreciation for the opportunity to be with my husband on this journey. As I review those postings, many were written during difficult times, times when I was feeling lost or exhausted. It was particularly in those times when I needed to fall back on the love we shared to keep on going. I had to step back to remember the why of this journey.

As philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” I  have found my why. Sharing this life with my husband is the best reason I can imagine for finding my how when it comes to facing and overcoming difficult challenges. His PD diagnosis isn’t my why, instead I look at our lives together in their entirety. I am so grateful for what we have shared together and look forward to even more good times ahead.

Which brings me back to my original thought. When life seems to be unbearable I stop and find something to be grateful for. Some days it is as basic as getting out of bed together one more time. I take a moment and find thankfulness for the opportunities this life has brought me. As his symptoms progress the difficult times will increase, yet I will always have all of these great memories to fall back on. And gratitude will see me through.

To see more about this quote from Nietzsche click here.