This year has been a challenge and I’ve had the worst luck lately. It’s required me to have tough skin & really work on my self confidence. I feel like I’m climbing across one of those unsteady ladders at the Fair. You climb slowly trying to maintain balance and every little move can upset it. You either maintain the balance and make it to the top or tip the ladder and fall off completely. When I was a kid, I always asked my parents to let me climb these ladders. I remember standing in front of it before I started to climb. I remember telling myself, “This time you’re going to do it. Stay focused. Stay slow. You can do it.” I remember people cheering me on behind me. My parents, the worker, other people walking past. I think I made it to the top of one once. Maybe not. What I do know is that I always wanted to try again.

I’m on a shaky ladder. I balance it. I take another step forward. Sometimes I keep it balanced. Sometimes I slip and fall. Some of the falls are small and only hurt for a few minutes. Some of the falls hurt a lot. I can’t stop climbing.

Life is a funny thing. You will have so many amazing things happen. There are so many positives to keep you going. Sometimes it feels like every time something positive has happened, there’s something negative waiting around the corner. Don’t focus on the negatives. They happen. Deal with them and move on. Try not to be scared of something bad happening again. Make sure you have a support system. There are so many wonderful people in this world.

The people in my life keep me going and help me try to keep my ladder balanced. If I fall, I get up and try again.