Today is a Diamond

There is a John Denver song my mother used to quote all the time.  Of course, in my Mom's style, she wouldn't speak it, she would always sing it.  It's called, Somedays are Diamonds, Somedays are Stone.  Today...it's a diamond and its about time as the past couple of months have been very rocky!

I took my Cimzia shots on Saturday, and on Sunday I felt okay.  Nothing major.  Then I woke this morning and without thinking I immediately got out of bed and was halfway to the other side of the house before I realized I was in very little pain and was walking fine.  I had to laugh a bit, actually, and wonder if I was having a dream.

I still have pain but I've already seen a good reduction in swelling and mobility in my hands.  I'm cautiously optimistic.  This is supposed to get me through an entire month before my next dose so we'll see what happens.

As I listen to this song and focus on the diamonds vs stone I am reminded of the immense pressure that is involved in making a diamond.  Did you know that it takes up to 1 Billion years for a diamond to form?  And scientists believe they don't come from coal as we have come to accept (http://geology.com/articles/diamonds-from-coal/).  But the pressure that it takes to form a diamond is incredible (yes, I'm also reminded of that great line in Ferris Bueller's Day Off but I'll let you reference that one in your own minds).

We've all been under pressure throughout our lives and there will be other times.  And I am convinced, as I have always been, that it is part of the refining process.  When the pressure is relieved for a bit we have a little more clarity, a little more shine to our spirit.

One of the great pressure-releasers in my life has been the love and support of people.  Through the years they have changed names and faces and some of them have gone and some of them remain.  I recently reconnected with someone who was very dear to me during the last half of the nineties.  What a blessing to reconnect with her and know that our mutual respect and love for one another is still as strong as ever.  It is those simple acts or reaching out that bring me more comfort from the pain than medications can.  Reach out to someone today and share the love with someone, won't you?  who knows - maybe through that simple act you'll turn someone's stone day into a diamond day.