IC awareness day 25:what IC has not changed about me

What are some things about you that the IC hasn't changed? We often talk so much about how it changed us that we tend to repress the things that we still hold on to. What do you still have that IC hasn't taken away?

I'm still loving, compassionate and I still care if someone else is hurting. I still stand up for the underdog and I am passionate about the people and causes I believe in. If I care, I really care. I am still honest to a fault and if I want something I usually try to get it, or if I want to know something I usually just cut the crap and ask. I am blunt. I don't know how to be false or silly or bitchy for the sake of it. I don't beat about the bush and I still can't stand pretentious people or game players. 

I may not always shout the loudest anymore but the old me is still there, even if sometimes she sits back and takes her time and listens a bit more these days and doesn't scream from the rooftops or dance in the streets.

I'm still a good mum - although restricted physically in some ways, in others the IC has made me even stronger - as I'm more conscious of how lucky I am to be blessed with my two children and how big a job I'm doing on my own. They are both loved, cuddled, fed, clean (mostly), listened to, encouraged, nurtured... That much has not changed. The three of us are a tight family - even tighter than a year ago, I would say. I still love going to the park with them, even if i'm sitting on a bench for most of it, cuddling up for bedtime stories with my son, or doing music with my daughter, or curling up with a bowl of popcorn to watch a film together. IC cannot and will not take the family I've created away from me.

I am still a writer. I am still a piano player. I am still a singer. I still love reading and hot baths. I still love the autumn leaves and the crisp night sky in the countryside when you can see thousands of ancient stars. 

I am still fiercely loyal to my friends and equally can quite happily let go of those who have let me down or betrayed me if it's serious enough to warrant that.

I still follow my heart. Whatever knocks and blows I receive I retain a kind of internal innocence, which is maybe weaker now but not dead: I still believe in love, and fairies, and mermaids.

I may not believe in wishes coming true so much anymore but you never know, that could always change if mine does.