Hi Mike,
I also got bullied in school, I've had very pale skin all my life, got called names, teased, made to feel like an outcast, and then in 7th grade had to start public school because my parents didn't feel like paying for Catholic school anymore because the tuition was going up, that was difficult, I had to make all new friends, go thru a lot of teasing again, and you know how we learn to be precise in Catholic school and very organized, and that was also a point of teasing from the public school kids. I also had knee surgery at age 12 and had a horrible 7-inch scar which was deep purple for a few months and also a reason for other girls not to want to have me on their teams in gym.
Now I've been losing my hearing for several hears, can't hear much at all anymore, and I tell people that on the phone and they keep yacking as if what I just told them is not any more important than the weather.
My younger son is also hearing impaired and has a serious knee problem that prevents him from running or lifting heavy objects or standing for too long, and my older son was sent home from the military because of stress issues, he's painfully shy and quiet and also has to tolerate negative commentary from people who don't understand that he's a very talented artist and has a heart of gold, neither of them has a job but they help me with everything I need help with, even walking with me a couple blocks to the vets office on ice in winter to get medicine for the cats, my oldest son is right by my side when I need his help, no matter what people say about him not having a job, or me not having a "real job"...and some of that negative commentary is from relatives who don't know anything about the internet or the fact that I taught myself HTML and taught my sons HTML without going to tech school to learn it. I work hard online every day and feel like I've run a marathon every day, and today was on phone calls that I could barely hear, thru my breakfast and dinner.
Then I have to tolerate online harassment from some people who bash the businesses I promote when they don't even understand the businesses, and bash me when they don't even know me or how hard I work and how much effort I put in every day.
There were times a few years ago when I was making jewelry for consignment shops, staying up all night, my fingers frozen in winter, with a blanket wrapped around me, and also taught both my sons how to make jewelry & ornaments. Not very many young men would learn beadweaving with their mom, but my sons are my heart & soul and they knew I needed all their help.
My life has not been easy either, my parents had 6 kids, one was disabled, my dad was the only one working, only had one car, my mom didn't drive, and we all wore hand-me-downs when we weren't wearing our school uniforms. Nobody's life has been perfect, and my hearing is worse every day, I don't realize it until I have to talk to someone on the phone, and sometimes I DO have to. I don't want a hearing aid, my father refuses to get one, I'll get one when he does, probably never, or when the world stops all the stuff I don't want to listen to.
NONE of that matters enough for me to mention it on a regular basis, BECAUSE, as I've said before, I was raised with a sister who was born with Cerebral Palsy, and nothing else is as big or bad as that, nothing else overshadows knowing that a loved one will never run or do everything the rest of us do. None of my problems or my sons problems are that big. Nothing in my world will ever be as big as that, and having a sibling with a major disability is a driving force, it's a pivotal force in my entire daily life. My hearing loss is a minor issue, harassment is a minor issue, nothing else matters except wishing she had the life we all had, and she worked her butt off, and now so do I, no matter what other people think or say, and it's not to "rub salt in a wound" of anyone else who's not earning online, because I NEED TO earn online, and when other people state their problems, I know I have my own problems, and I keep working and working and working because my problems are not a major lifetime disability, and I know that, my problems are small and always will be, compared to my sister's life, my lifetime is easy and always will be.