#unexpected paths

[harmonyhealinghub]

Embracing a Different Path: Coping After Learning You Won't Have Children

Shaina Tranquilino

December 13, 2023

Life often presents us with unexpected challenges, and one of the most profound can be discovering that having children of our own may not be possible. The emotional journey following such news can be overwhelming and heartbreaking. However, it's crucial to remember that there is light at the end of the tunnel. In this blog post, we'll explore several ways to cope and find joy in life after learning you won't be able to have biological children.

1. Acknowledge Your Feelings: The first step towards healing is acknowledging your emotions. Allow yourself to grieve, as this loss is significant. It's natural to feel sadness, anger, or confusion during this time. Find a supportive friend or partner who will listen without judgment, or consider seeking professional counselling to help navigate through these complex feelings.

2. Connect with Supportive Communities: You are not alone in this journey; many individuals have faced similar circumstances. Reach out to support groups or online communities where you can connect with others experiencing infertility or childlessness by choice. Sharing experiences, stories, and advice can provide solace and make you realize that hope exists beyond biological parenthood.

3. Explore Alternative Paths: While it may seem like the end of the road for becoming parents, there are various alternative paths to consider when building a family. Adoption allows you to give love and care to a child who needs it while creating a fulfilling bond. Similarly, surrogacy provides an opportunity for those who wish to experience parenthood genetically but cannot carry their own child.

4. Rediscover Your Passions: Infertility struggles should never define your entire identity or purpose in life. Take this moment as an opportunity for self-discovery and rekindle your passions outside of parenting aspirations. Engaging in hobbies, pursuing new career goals, travelling, volunteering, or focusing on personal growth can bring fulfillment and happiness.

5. Nurture Relationships: While the path to parenthood may have changed, the love and connection within your relationships remain unchanged. Strengthening bonds with your partner, family, friends, or even becoming a mentor to a child in need can fill your life with joy and purpose. Cherish and invest in these valuable connections that enrich your journey.

6. Seek Professional Guidance: If you find it challenging to navigate through this phase alone, seeking professional help from therapists specializing in infertility counselling can provide immense support. A trained counsellor can guide you in processing grief, managing stress, improving communication with loved ones, and developing coping strategies tailored to your unique situation.

7. Embrace a Different Perspective: Remember that being a parent does not solely define one's worth or purpose in life. Many individuals without biological children lead fulfilling lives by channelling their nurturing instincts into careers or dedicating themselves to causes they are passionate about. Explore new perspectives on what it means to be fulfilled and redefine success based on personal values rather than societal expectations.

Discovering that you won't be able to have children of your own is undoubtedly a profound challenge that requires emotional healing and readjustment of expectations. However, finding acceptance and embracing alternative paths can lead to newfound joy, purpose, and fulfillment in life. Surround yourself with supportive communities, seek professional guidance if needed, and remember that there are countless ways to make a positive impact on the world beyond traditional parenthood.

Ultimately, this journey presents an opportunity for growth and self-discovery—an opportunity to embrace the beauty of life's unexpected turns while building resilience along the way.

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

not single day go by without wish am like peer same age. not single day go by without beg for be at same milestone as same age peers as high school classmates as college classmates see all of them move on with life have job travel date move in marry grad school live independent (share rent w roommate not mean not independent). in high school in college both before become so severely disabled n also after, not realize just how different we are. assume everyone same like me bc not understand otherwise assume what they have am will have what am have they have n then be forcibly hit by truck that we so different we on such fundamentally different paths n it not fair its not its not fair

[saintashes]

THE FOOL'S JOURNEY. || a satosugu poem. text below. feel free to reblog :)

CONCEPT: the sun sets and the sky looks like raspberries. we reach up and take one from a bush, bursting and juicy. the clouds touch our fingers shyly and we laugh and laugh until our stomachs hurt in the best way.

CONCEPT: we are becoming dull with age. we are still alive. i tell you about the raspberries and you tell me we are too old to believe in magic. i ask, is it the growing up that leaves us empty? you stay silent. the next morning there is a note on the counter. fear, it says. fear. i wonder how much courage it took to write it down.

CONCEPT: a home in which fear is an invite only guest. and we do not send an invitation. do not even throw a party.

CONCEPT: the day ends and you barge into our dorm room. yell and yell. grab my arm. chase me out into the night. you say, look at the sky. it is all cranberry and red. look, see how the wind grows strawberries? see the fields? how they breathe on indefinitely? and, lord, the look on your face. it is breathtaking. your mouth twisting up in joy.

CONCEPT: we eat from the vine. the stars wink their little eyes at us. the moon listens as we weave her a story. nothing stills until dawn.

CONCEPT: we stay here forever. fear does not reach us in this place. it is only our front yard but it is wild. it is brim filled with dreams. it is an accomplishment. to grow and still believe. it is magic. it is ours. in the best way, it is ours.

[halfusek]

Abomination [Part 69] [Epilogue] (4/11)

FIRST PART

NEXT PART

PREVIOUS PART

The End Is Never The End Is Never The End Is Never The End.

[zwan99]

What's better than new two sinners? Three new sinners!

New Fury S Rank Jasmine

New Catalyst S Rank Parfait

New Reticle A Rank Thalia

New 3 Star Skins for Don and Rise

New 2 Star for Pylgia and Dolly

[microwavetoaster-selfships]

I think I need that "Wow, I haven't stubbed my toe in five months! I was then shot fifty-seven times." Audio again

[cerunilea]

I want Cellbit to still actually be in his depression arc after he wakes up from his weeklong hibernation JUST so I can see the looks on Bagi and everyone else she tells' faces at the subversion of expectations, it would be glorious to witness (especially after she spent all week preparing and bracing herself for him on the warpath, she would be so caught off guard and I think that's something you don't get to see very often)

[blackjackkent]

With Lorroakan dead, the upstairs offices in Sorcerous Sundries are no longer marked as off-limits. All of the animated armors haven't gotten the memo though:

Narrator: You don't have permission to be here. You're about to be ejected.

Delightfully, however, among the various speech checks available to get them to stand down is an [INTIMIDATION] option which works perfectly for my headcanons about Rakha taking over Ramazith's Tower for herself.

[INTIMIDATION] "This is my place now. If you don't leave now, you won't leave at all."

One would think, frankly, that this wouldn't be such an effective argument for a mindless hunk of animated metal, but nevertheless it works.

Congratulations, says the Narrator, sounding deeply unimpressed. You've convinced them to give you access. Now what?

Good question.

Tolna the Tomeseller's office contains a fairly diverse set of examinable items, including:

Yet another of Lorroakan's flyers advertising his hunt for the Nightsong.

A set of notes between apprentices about Lorroakan demanding his valuable tomes get brought to the vault, and also about a "newly-acquired lamp, the one with the djinn" being sent down there as well.

A key for a chest somewhere in the vault.

A book on a bookshelf which opens a portal into the vault.

A book titled "An Alternative Perspective: The Weave", which Rakha definitely spends quite a long time staring at:

Rakha knows that her ability to see the nature of magic and the Weave is not common, so she is briefly pretty intrigued by this theory, although as it starts getting weirder towards the end she ends up staring at the book with her head cocked to the side like a puzzled dog.

Through the portal!

This is rather nice; Hector got tossed down here all by himself by accident, whereas Rakha gets to explore the vault with four of her closest friends, only one of whom actually wants to be there. Despite having only about six months of memory compared to Hector's fifty years, Rakha is sometimes a lot more on top of things than he was.

I won't play by play the entire vault again, since to be honest not much of interest really happens in it, but suffice to say that Rakha is, once again, fascinated. If the fate of the world (and, more importantly, Lae'zel) wasn't at stake, she would definitely happily stay in this vault and the tower for the rest of her life. There's no one in here for the beast to want to kill, and everything she touches is full to the brim with magic.

The place is also chock full of traps, of course, but even those feel more like an interesting challenge than a real threat. She can see them long before they go off - chains of Weave tying together walls and floorboards, lacing them with ice or fire or crippling, choking gas.

-----

In one hidden passageway, she finds a book titled "The Red Knight's Final Strategem," from which she gleans knowledge of a spell called "Artistry of War":

Not really a spell to her particular taste (too hands-off) but she does learn it anyway.

About ten minutes (and MANY traps) later, she manages to work her way into the Karsus vault, where she finds their most immediate target:

"Magus, be warned!" reads a sheet of paper, written in a trembling hand, near the book:

An unnerving idea. Rakha, however, dismisses it as a foolishness she would not have fallen to - she has no particular respect for Mystra, but she is far too reverential of the Weave as itself to even consider trying to break off part of it.

(She does, however, here learn a spell called Dethrone from a scroll nearby, which bears the description, "Shred a foe's very essence by pulling on strands of the Weave." Eek.)

Gale, of course, is pretty excited as soon as we pick up the book:

"The Annals of Karsus. The preamble to a civilization's downfall, committed to parchment by the very hand that wrought its destruction. If the crown atop the elder brain was truly forged by Karsus himself, this book will confirm it. All we have to do is turn the page..."

Give the book to Gale.

"That devil Raphael was telling the truth!" Gale yelps eagerly after only a few moments' perusal of the tome. "There's no doubt. The Crown of Karsus is what's controlling the Elder Brain. And this - this is no mere journal. It contains Karsus's original plans for the Crown's construction. His designs for godhood."

Had to take a moment to consider what Rakha thinks about this.

Her opinion of gods in general, at this point, is pretty low. She's only really familiar with Shar, Vlaakith, and Mystra, all of whom have made a point of torturing the small and ragged family that is all Rakha has in the world. And Bhaal, of course - her own father, the source of the mad blood-hungry beast in her brain. Selune she's heard mention of as well - but only in the context of broken and abandoned places, places hollowed out by darkness.

Godhood, it seems to her, has not made any of these gods more worth the worshiping. So, if Gale is hoping she'll respond with eager enthusiasm to this discovery, he is presumably disappointed; she just looks at him stolidly without a word, waiting for the actionable point.

Stay silent.

Luckily, Gale has never been one to require audience participation in his rhetoric.

"The book states that the Crown and Netherstones were originally one construct," he explains excitedly. "Seemingly sundered at the moment of Karsus's downfall. If we can collect the crown's setting and the three Netherstones, and with the correct invocation of certain spells and gestures detailed in these notes..." He lifts his eyes to Rakha's, his expression bright with wonder. "I think I could reforge it."

That throws Rakha for a bit of a loop. "To what end?" she asks, puzzled. So far all they know about the crown itself is that the Chosen and Raphael both want it, and neither of those things is a compelling recommendation.

"To every end you can imagine," Gale says. His eyes are shining with intense excitement - bordering on mania. "And a thousand more beyond." His fingers flex tightly around the book's binding as he slams it closed. "Just think of it! The power of the gods in mortal hands at last! We'd be free of doctrine and dogma, confined only by the limits of our imaginations." Bitterness flickers across his eyes for a brief moment. "I promise you - the gods will never grant us such a blessing, no matter how much we worship and adore them."

(A/N: Ohohohohoho interesting. I literally just framed Rakha's whole opinion on the subject as basically coming down to the idea the gods aren't so special - and here's Gale framing his own argument for using the crown in exactly those terms. Hector, obviously, was super averse to the whole concept, since his religion was very important to him, but Rakha as far back as Act 1 was already having sardonic thoughts about how she would probably be a better caretaker of the Weave and its acolytes than Mystra.

And... perhaps, if the gods were put on the same level as mortals, Bhaal would lose his power over her, and the beast would go quiet at last...

So, much to my surprise, I'm realizing that she's not really dismissing this idea out of hand.)

"And you think Mystra will let you do this?" she asks - doubtfully, but still listening with sober intensity.

Gale's jaw tightens in a harsh smirk. "I don't know," he says. "Ao does not look kindly on gods meddling in mortal affairs. She may have no choice but to stand by and let events unfold." He drops his hand, holding the book, to his side, and Rakha can see the way his grip has whitened his knuckles.

"Even with the fate of the world at stake, she had little more to offer me than the means of blowing myself up at a more convenient time," he points out bitterly. "Mystra wanted the brain obliterated because of this crown. She fears a world in which such power is beyond her control, ready to be claimed by Karsus's successor."

Rakha cocks her head, trying to parse out the rapidfire thoughts and knotted emotions that lie behind these words. "So you want the crown to settle a score with Mystra?" she asks slowly.

"She sent me to die!" Gale snaps. He scowls, looking away, taking a moment to regain control of himself.

"Ambition is not a sin," he goes on more quietly after a short pause. His voice resonates with sudden resolve. "To question the powers that rule us is not treason. We must at least try. Why wallow in the dirt when we can reach for the stars?"

Rakha says nothing for a long, long time. She can see that her companions are not all in favor of this. Jaheira looks deeply troubled and Wyll is frowning - though Minthara has a dark smirk on her face that sends an odd prickle up Rakha's spine. And yet...

And yet...

The power of the gods in mortal hands at last!

Rakha does not want power. But she wants peace. And as near as she can tell, the current slate of gods are not in the business of providing it.

"Seems like you've got this all figured out," she says carefully. "I won't stand in your way."

Gale relaxes, his eyes bright and earnest. "This is no passing whim, trust me," he says firmly. "If I can obtain that crown, it will affect us all. It is not a decision I'll take lightly. It's our future that I'm thinking of. We can't rely on anyone else to do it for us."

With careful reverence, he places the heavy book into his pack. "For now, we've learned all we can. Whatever comes of this, we cannot allow the Crown to be reforged in Raphael's image." His lip curls disdainfully. "A devil wielding the might of Karsus... it would be the end of everything."

Rakha snorts softly. Yes. On that, at least, they are precisely aligned. She was right all along to reject the devil's offer, in spite of Lae'zel's disapproval. Raphael must never be allowed to get his hands on the thing.

[rozecrest]

i’ve seen a lot of talk about where the anime currently is being a drastic tone shift for dungeon meshi and it never hit me that way when i was reading… it could be because i had expectations of a complex plot secondhand from friends but we always knew they were going to face a dragon. we saw how frightening and powerful! it was first thing! there was a lot of humor in the early chapters but also always a serious threat of death, characters being aware of and fearful of the possibility of falin being lost, and writing work put in throughout to setup and hint towards plot elements that pay off explosively later

[harpers-tartarus]

Is there anything you want to write in your fics that you maybe haven't written yet?

oh, so many things!

this throne is not mine:

speaking with Ruvina, which I have not even begun to write

possibly ending up back in the forest of Sylvaire and fighting Arianwen

purposefully planning to take the Last Stand, so they try to level up at least once more (Riz is an extra level, level 14 rogue, level 1 cleric because he had to fight the Court of Stars by himself and killed 8/12)

It coming out that Riz and Fabian are a thing and so many ppl are like??? they weren't dating before???

Futton no Mito:

THE CHUNIN EXAMS, I'm so hyped for it

I've written this but it hasn't been posted yet, but Anko and Iruka being genin teammates and both having the curse seal

Tsunade's return and reconciliation with Mito

Sakura becoming Hatake Sakura and finally getting it at the Chunin Exams when she's targeted for being Kakashi's kid

Mito kisses Shikamaru and tells him she'll only date him when to hits Jounin and he's dumbfounded but 2 weeks later there's a rumor that she's dead until Naruto rushes through the front gates carrying her, somehow alive after being cut by Hidan's scythe.

Mito helping Naruto speak with Kurama and then wandering around in his psyche and finds the Yondaime Hokage, who gives a sheepish wave as she gapes at him

Strongest of the Warlocks

I'm feeding in more Arthurian Legend stuff into this fic and its gonna show

Morgana asks Merlin to find out more stuff about her parents and when she gets back, she's immediately accused of witchcraft bc Uther wants to silence her

The resurrection of Elmet, when it happens, will be so great

Merlin meeting Cian in the flesh on Arthur's quest and Gwaine staying with her to help her dig a grave for his bones than leave them behind

Arthur always impressed by Percival and he has no idea if he's serious when he says that the day they met, Merlin fought off a group of bandits to save his life

A Shift in the Force

Anakin and Ahsoka bonding

Sabe reaching Ossus and spending her fortune on repairing it bc the Force tells her that soon Coruscant won't be safe

Her realizing she's pregnant again and its not the best time, but she'll make the best of it

Quinlan eventually meeting his kid an Caleb HATES him, he's a mama's boy all the way

Tempest

Dick and Amy keeping a low profile when they start dating until they hit three months and decide okay, everything's going well, we should tell our folks

Ariel and Jason are on the anti-Dick squad but Jason's more serious about it

Amy running off to Mount Elbrus for the second time. Katya is ecstatic, except for the reasons that bring her

Amy and Wally fighting bc she won't come back to the Team and won't tell them why

Roy's funeral

Unexpected Changes

Callum and Ibis dream team. Callum leaves for a few months to train at the Storm Spire

Harrow and Ilmadia courting doing complicated things bc sometimes Ezran calls her Mom and Callum shuts down a few times

Callum and Rayla learning how to communicate with a linked mirror and a combination of sign language and written elven

Ethari makes Callum a staff and is startled when he starts crying over it

Brace For Impact

Hope getting arrested for using the patronus charm and her wand gets snapped, but when they go to bring her out, she's utterly unfazed, surrounded by madness and decay

Hope and Cliodhna's eventual duel. "You may win against me, but only for a time."

Ron going to the OotP and being Hope's mouthpiece bc he refuses to let her in that place and she has complete faith in him

Sirius and Hope dragging Regulus' corpse out of the lake and Sirius mourning him at long last.

Hope meeting so many gods

Path Built on Graves

Allen coming to the Order and Kanda immediately detests him bc Maria's face goes white when she sees him

Finding out that Allen Walker is Allen Campbell and Maria's just like 'of course my kid would be the one to willingly join up with the Order'

Her brothers finding out that Maria's Allen is still alive and they're so happy for her...tho Tyki's a little irritable that he lost so much money to him

Maria having a contentious relationship with Bookman and refusing to elaborate on why she doesn't like him

The Golden Sun

Ed and Al having to split up to locate the next two gems. Ed gives everyone the slip and Al, not about to be outdone, takes off for Creta. Ling follows Ed and Fu has no choice but to follow Lanfan as she goes with Al

Ed and Al meeting the other Liebs :)

Eden joining Central City University and becoming Roy's roommate

Ed somehow finding faith in the form of Ishvala

[sisterdivinium]

I wasn't going to post a round up for this week of the Warrior Nun Commentfic Fest because a) we still have four days to go until the 31st and it just seemed weird to do it now and then again at the end and b) it was mostly just me posting fills (one about Camila being jealous of Yasmine and even of Jillian with regards to Mother Superion's attention and a drabble about Lilith meeting her mother again after she got her wings)... BUT THEN Anon showed up with a Mary/Mother Superion fill which they said was PWP but which I found quite delicious in all it leaves unsaid as well and I really want you to know it exists, so take this as an informal week 8 report just to support that one fic.

That brings us to a current total of 34 fills, which is pretty amazing if you ask me and that's with a few last fest days to go still!

[ordinaryhuahua]

GUYZZZ

I swear my Mr. Qi x farmer fic is almost done. I'm pushing through it right now for the love I have for this man. It's like seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. I refuse to post it until I got all the chapters done.

Looking back, Mr. Qi must be proud of me. I never write something this long, let alone in this language. I thought it would end around chapter 30, but it keeps extending itself I dunno what's happening. He really pushes me beyond my limits. Mr. Qi please come to my dream after I finish writing.

[eyes-like-the-night]

Sooo hurricane Milton is pretty damn close to where I am, thankfully I’m inland, and naturally my car decides to start smoking and need a tow which means I’m out of a car till Friday at minimum. I was also supposed to work Tuesday and I feel horrible I had to cancel due to my car.

Had a friend pick me and I packed up my cats and things for a few days and we’re all staying with him a little further south of the storm

[mobius-m-mobius]

Hypothetically, would it bother you if I dug into the deepest depths of your tumblr and reblogged posts from years and years ago?

Not at all!!

Tbh it's pretty likely whatever I was reblogging back then hasn't been on the forefront of my mind for a while but there's nothing on this blog I haven't adored or had great times enjoying so the memories are always fun, plus seeing someone discovering new to them content of something they're vibing with is a delight 💖

[artemistorm]

*launches myself off a Sheikah tower and crashes into your astronomy tower* HELLO :D

Just popping in to say I appreciate you and I hope you’re doing ok and school is going well! ❤️

Hi Skye! Thanks for visiting my inbox! Happy to see you!

I'm doing good now that I've passed the math midterm. Now I need to focus and study for my other two classes midterms which I've been neglecting because math's been a struggle (I may have a math learning disability). But otherwise I'm doing good. Going to go to a corn maze, get pumpkins at the pumpkin patch, and go to a haunted house with my brother later this week.

[michaelgabrill]

In the Starlight: Jason Phillips Unexpected Path to Johnson Procurement

Sometimes an unexpected turn in a carefully planned career path leads to surprising opportunities for growth and exciting new experiences. For Jason Phillips, that turn steered toward NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Phillips joined the U.S. Air Force in 1994 and planned to serve for at least 20 years, but in 2010—while preparing for […] from NASA https://ift.tt/PH3R8gZ