Day 131: Wore Green

I miss my Grandma "Mugs".  She was very sweet, caring, hilarious, and you never went a day without hearing from her on the phone (for some in our family, you never went 45 minutes without hearing from her on the phone).  She lived with us when I was in junior high and part of high school, so she was there to see me start to grow up (notice I didn't use the word mature).  She put up with my many practical jokes, my loud music, and my general teenage moodiness.  What I never truly realized or appreciated was that my moodiness was nothing in comparison to what my Grandma was going through.  That is because my Grandma was bipolar, which at the time was described as manic depressive.  There would be times that my Grandma would just lay on the couch, and not be in the mood to joke around, but I figured it was just because she was getting older or tired.  Luckily, at least around me, my Grandma tried her hardest to always put on a brave, happy face.  The reason why I am sharing this with you, is to raise awareness for bipolar disorder.  It is estimated that 5.7 million Americans currently are suffering from bipolar, but a large percentage of this estimated number isn't receiving any sort of treatment.  So today, for my random act of kindness, my daughter and I are wearing green in order to get the word out for bipolar disorder.  In addition to this, the green raises awareness for Celiac Disease (get well Carter), HIV/AIDS testing, Kidney Cancer, Lyme Disease, Lymphoma and for Organ Donation/Transplants.