Did you know that physiologically, both excitement and anxiety present very similarly?

I never used to be a fearful person. I wasn’t a stress-head or a worst-case scenario thinker. I had never had a panic attack, or even been close to one. But that was before our HeartKid was born.

Most people know one of my ‘lemons’ is the Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) our oldest son was born with. But this past year, we’ve had another health-related lemon land in our court.

It’s like a little firework of thoughts goes off in your mind in about 5 seconds flat. There is a mix of actual rational thoughts, like the question of our coping ability at the moment, then there are the crazy, not so important thoughts, like being able to water the garden tomorrow.

There is something about a new year. I know it’s just another day, which technically doesn’t change anything from yesterday, yet there is still something undeniably different about the first day of a new year. I’m wondering whether it’s because there is an underlying sense of expectation. That something will be different. That things will change.

2018. I don’t even know where to begin with you.

As we keep racing around, we’re actually missing all those little moments that make up the beautiful bits of life. We need to stop. And breathe. We need to slow down.

I don’t know if it’s just me or not, but quite often in life I forget to have fun. The kind of fun that makes me feel young. That makes me laugh so hard my belly aches. The kind of fun that takes my kids and husband by surprise. I get so caught up in the day-to-day monotony of life, that I forget about fun.

But, every now and then I decide it’s time to surprise my family.

The importance of community helping people survive tough situations has been reiterated in a huge way at my local level this past week. When tragedy strikes, it’s quite powerful seeing people band together - to support each other, to pray together, to cry together, to sit and chat. The importance of the time we have right now becomes so real.

Both short term and long term support is needed when crisis hits. Because crisis doesn’t last forever, but the ramifications and flow on effects often do.

What is it about our Australian culture that make us feel the need to speak? What is wrong with silence? Or just a hug? Or an ‘I’m so sorry’? Why do we feel the need to make people feel better, when there is nothing that can actually make them feel better at that particular moment?

It’s a busy month in our house. Lots of extra work hours, medical appointments for various family members, volunteering, plus just the usual busyness of a family of five. Nothing extraordinary, just lots on.

Usually, these busy periods mean we buy extra takeaway and don’t eat particularly well. Shopping and meal planning just seems to fall by the wayside. Then we feel worse ourselves, which doesn’t help us cope with the extra busyness. I’m sure you’re familiar with the cycle?

I thought ‘that’s it, that’s exactly how I can manage unhealthy stress better’. So many things can push in on us and wear us down. Serious health issues are a big one which can just be so relentless. But there are many, many other causes of stress too. If you’re looking for ways to manage unhealthy stress, then check this out.

I find myself sitting in the same surgical waiting room at The Royal Children’s Hospital where we sat waiting to take our son into his second Open Heart Surgery. Today it’s just a meeting with an anaesthetist for some dental work, but walking in did make me take a short breath and catch myself. I wasn’t expecting today to be a day of flash backs.

Is the answer to run away and not say anything to someone in crisis? Avoid them at all costs? Never talk about their illness, sick child or family member? NO! People in crisis NEED YOU!

Time out is good for the soul. I’m in Noosa with 3 friends for a ‘utero retirement’ trip 😂 So good to get some sunshine and take a break.

This is the sort of every day stuff our HeartKid shouldn’t be able to do. He has severe leakage of his aortic valve and mild left ventricular hypertrophy. He’s had 2 open heart surgeries already and we’re waiting on the next one, which is going to be huge.

One of the absolute best things that has come out of our family living with Congenital Heart Disease, is the fact that we tend to live with a mentality of 'why not?' rather than think of all the reasons why we shouldn't do something. It's like since we came so close to losing our HeartKid, my husband and I have subconsciously decided to make the most of life while we've got it.

Not knowing what is around the corner with our HeartKid has taught me that I can't run at 110% all the time. It's not wise for me to run at full capacity with no space left. If I'm already running at a 10, where do I go if tomorrow our son’s heart starts playing up again and I end up in the Emergency Department?

Yesterday I took our daughter and our HeartKid to Chadstone and coincidentally the Teddy Bear Hospital was on. Given that the kids spend a fair bit of time visiting medical clinics and talking about health, I'm always quite surprised that they want to do things like the Teddy Bear Hospital. But they were keen as.