What do brownies and crocheting have to do with each other?   Cooking and crocheting were both interest I had before PTSD took over my life. (PTSD was part of my life for years but didn’t gain domination until in my 30’s) I kept it at bay for a long time being focused on other stuff and dissociating.  I lost interest in both when different triggers were associated with them.  I didn’t know at the time.  I thought I just didn’t like these things.  Now, PTSD is a bit more manageable.  It doesn’t take 24/7 effort to keep myself on even keel.  I am learning about thriving.  I learned the trigger for the brownies and gave myself the challenge this year to learn how to cook.  Yes, all 6 of my children have families of their own.  The pressure to produce major meals every night is off.  Cooking is now fun.  I tried 3 different brownie recipes that even though the brownies were very different recipes they ended up with similar texture.  The flavor kicker was using Ghirardelli chocolate.  The secret is in choosing my ingredients.  The Baker’s Chocolate was good the Ghirardelli chocolate is almost impossible to resist.  (Must keep typing so I don’t eat another one.)  The crocheting was a different issue.  I learned to crochet and did one huge king size bed spread.  I over whelmed myself with unreasonable expectations.  Now, I am doing small projects.  Washcloths, scarf, and other smaller projects are getting me back in the groove.  I didn’t realize how much I actually liked crocheting.  It was after putting unreasonable expectations on myself that I decided I didn’t like it.  I am learning that part of thriving is not putting so many bricks on myself that I collapse.  Part of thriving is becoming my own best friend.