Your son's words were a gift indeed. He helped to validate your efforts and you the man. He sees you for you and he knows you will survive because fighting and not giving up is the right thing to do.
Your essay topic about "enduring" is excellent. Life is about enduring through the hard times and knowing they aren't permanent. We have been enduring the pain, confusion, frustration, and fear of our new realities.
Things can, will, and do get better in time. The key is to keep the faith and continue to get out of bed every day and be productive.
I'm working on two phrases to put on my mirror in my bathroom:
1) "Self-discipline = doing what you should do when you should do it regardless of how you feel about it at the time." 2) "The Good Lord woke you up for a reason today, so make the most of it."
Those have been helping me to keep putting one foot in front of the other these days. My dilemma isn't so much w/my X as we're on somewhat decent terms (although she's still uber-controlling and won't always respond or reply), but my stresses are w/my finances and my dog.
The dog is a health thing which I'm hoping is temporary, but the financial reality I'm in is pretty bleak. My battles w/myself to save my M and my family have destroyed me and for the short-run, I'm going to be in really bad financial shape.
However, like the Phoenix, I can and will be rising up from it all by the end of September at the latest, so there is a light at the end of the tunnely and it isn't an on-coming train.
So, as usual, I'm in complete understanding of your situation. I don't even need to repeat it, but it does me good to relate my stories and compare scars w/you, my brother.
Take care and sorry about the knee. Bummer. I had surgery a few years ago and am not still 100%. It sucks getting old b/c we just don't bounce back like we used to.
