Skip to main content

The end of 2015

I go into 2016 with mixed feelings. The beginning of a new year usually comes with promises to improve, to better oneself, to let go of the things that held us back before. The thing is, I am pretty ok with me. I began a journey when my daughter received her cancer diagnosis. A journey towards being a better person. Seeing the positive. And life got better- she got better for starters. I launched a business that I love and put my heart and soul (and a lot of money) into it. I set myself challenges I only dreamt of before. Took up running, entered a lot of races and raised a lot of money for charity. All ticks in my book of living a better life. Only, not everyone came on that journey with me. I shrugged off negativity and with that failed to spot the warning signs that were screaming out to me. That my husband, the other half of me, was hurting, was somehow damaged. Couldn't just 'fix' himself. And he sank further and further into his own hell, with me smiling beside him.

Depression. It steals the person you are, entwines itself like weeds and strangles the light, the hope. It began to creep into my happy bubble, became harder not to notice. By the time I did, it had completely affected his work life and the person he was at home. With work, it had gotten to the point of no return. His work made the depression worse, trapped in a vicious cycle. Snap out of it... I wish he could. In the end there was little choice involved. He parted ways with his job and we lost our home, our family home... suddenly, bubble burst, I sank with him.

Sat in a dingy b'n'b, head held in hands. Rock bottom. I lost heart. Lost faith in the newly learnt positive attitude I'd adopted. I felt shame like never before. I stopped running and wallowed in the despair. We both did. We had overcome cancer and now this? Then something snapped. I put on my trainers and went for a run. Breathing harder than before. I was a loser in life at this point, but could be victorious as I charged forward. Taking back control. Ownership of perception. We had already faced our biggest fears as parents, this couldn't be worse...

I shook it off. We could wallow and still our life would be no better, or we could stand strong. We were both free- whilst I had been able to pursue dreams and happy things, he had been stuck in a job he hated whilst facing an inner battle he hadn't the strength to fight. Free from his work and the pressures that came with it, my husband, my best friend, returned to me. I so missed his smile. One aspect of our life was a major f*$k up but it wouldn't be permanent. It wouldn't define us. We could choose to view 2015 as the year we 'lost it all' or, as a pretty amazing year with a blip along the way. And that blip will one day be looked upon as the moment that we turned our lives around, the catalyst that led to a better place- for the both of us and ultimately for our children, our purpose for being.

It's certainly a surreal time. To be technically homeless but continuing on. I am training for the London Marathon so I can continue fundraising for cancer charities and he has just signed up for his first half marathon. Running has proven to be the ultimate anti-depressant. We are lucky. We have this chance now, to make things better. Life is beautiful- this continues to be our family motto. 2016 will be an amazing year. We will make sure of it.


www.virginmoneygiving.com/terricreaser


Smiling, as we should be. Enjoying goofing around together.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Big Marathon Challenge

Drumroll please... I have been shortlisted for the Women's Running Magazine Big Marathon Challenge team. I am pretty stunned to say the least. If I make the final three then I'll be on my way to competing in the Manchester Marathon, receiving top notch training and full kit courtesy of Asics. I'm in amazing company, the women are all pretty inspirational and each have their own reasons for wanting to run as part of the team. So, what's mine? I have tackled two marathons but feel I succumbed to the dreaded wall in each one. That little devil on my shoulder won each time and to finish the thing I had to switch to a walk/run strategy. Physically, I know each time I could have run the whole thing. But that little voice, that seed of doubt in my head took over. I know I can do it. I know I can finish a marathon, running the whole way... I also know there is no shame in using a run/ walk strategy, many runners do it and it's still a huge achievement to complete a mara...

Financial Advice in the Midst of A Crisis

I was asked if I could write a blog post full of financial tips for those who are taking those first terrifying steps of the cancer journey. They clearly looked at my two overdrafts, recent spout of homelessness and my woefully underpaid self employed position and thought, ‘here’s the girl we need in times of financial crisis!’ If you have come to this blog because you are taking those first steps, I am truly sorry that you are joining this sucky club. It’s not one that any parent ever wants to be part of. I assure you, you will find the strength to get through this. It will somehow reveal courage you never knew you had and show you that children are truly warriors who face adversity with such bravery that your love for them will elevate to levels you never believed possible.  When you are told your child has cancer, the last thing on your mind will be money. But it’s incredible how much your finances will take a knock. From hospital car parking fees, to takeawa...

The Spartan Sprint

I have been marvelling at my bruises all week! A sign of the effort that I put into what was up there with the best days of my life. If I am honest the Spartan Sprint filled me with dread. I'd seen youtube videos. The participants look fit, ridiculously fit. I still see myself as being a pretender to the running scene, having not quite shifted the couch potato tag in my mind. Somehow I'd roped my sister-in-law to join in too! Both doing our bit to raise funds for a wonderful charity. It wasn't a great start to the day when I managed to read the sat nav wrong a whopping four times. I hate running late. I am always early. Always. I needn't have worried. We got there in plenty of time. Our wave time beckoned. There was an obstacle to get into the holding pen. Now I was worried. "We are Spartans!" Chanted the crowd of ridiculously fit types. It was hard not to get swept up into the atmosphere, even if the mud at my feet was making me a little anxious. Ha! If...