I saw a post today on Facebook. Someone had written a comment on a friend’s page: “Being bipolar is a full-time job.” Boy, I hope not! I have so much to do! I try to refrain from saying I AM bipolar. I’m not mad, I’m not crazy I have a disorder, an irregularity. Sometimes severe, usually unnoticeable to others that complicates things. That’s all I’ll admit too. Unless you find me in a crisis, then I will tell you the truth about that too. During a flare up should you like to call it that…this disorder can consume you.

Right now I am much more inconvenienced by my asthma and that is calming down, thank goodness. I feel grateful to God that during the weeks of asthma when I have had to take a steroid, which can easily cause mania to surface, it has not. They had to increase it again because of the asthma flare this past weekend and still my mood is stable. I am so thankful.

Through it all my dear husband Mike has been helpful, good, caring, thoughtful and more than a few times my hero. He got me an air purifier big enough for our great room in the apartment and a new breathing machine. He gave me my breathing treatments all last weekend when I was quite ill. Many times I realize that I do so well managing with the bipolar disorder because of him. He helps so much. Cares for me so well. Loves me so.

This Friday is our 33rd Wedding anniversary and I want to thank God for blessing us with a marriage filled with love, faith and friendship. I want to thank my wonderful dad, good friend of Mike’s dad for introducing us and a great support always to us. And I want to thank Mike for being the funniest, sweetest shy guy ever! It’s hard to catch a shy guy when you’re as extroverted as me. I don’t know how I got so blessed, but I am thankful, happy and very loved.

@copyright Libby Baker Sweiger

Photography by Heather Jeanette Jensen-Siebens