Just hanging in there...

For most of my life, "hanging in there" is what I've learned to do. I'm not doing great or fantastic, but I'm doing okay, and in some ways, I'm just grateful to be doing that.

Having rheumatoid arthritis since I was 9, (I'm 48 now) I've had to slow down more and more as I have gotten older. When I was first diagnosed, that was especially difficult since I was a tomboy and had so much fun riding my blue Schwinn bike or playing with the neighborhood boys - like baseball, kickball, or those other outside games like red-rover, kick the can and ghost in the grave yard.

When the girls were my only choice to play with, it was my next door neighbors, Jayne and Joyce (not twins - just sisters), and they wanted to play house. Not wanting to put on a frilly dress, high heels or jewelry, I always played the husband who came home from a hard day at work. And I never understood the concept of playing with Barbie dolls - even though I had one too, I just got it because everyone else had them. I think I played with it once and that was enough for me. It sat alone in the closet for probably 15 years before I finally gave it to my cousin's daughter. Hopefully, Josie got a lot more enjoyment out of it than I did.