Last time we spoke I was getting ready to celebrate my birthday. I am happy to report that I had a great day; there was nothing that could have ruined my day. I spent some time with my friend who got me ready for late-night adventures in the city. I adored the fit that we curated together and the glam she put together for me. The final look brought out my confidence and raised my self-esteem that’s 100% for sure. I am also proud and excited to announce that I got to witness the W that Alex Pereira rightfully earned. Trigger warning to anyone who may go watch the fight; it is graphic and features violence. As much as I had a complete and satisfying birthday weekend, it was the start of weeks of illness in my close circle.
Illness might be an understatement if you ask me, it is more like weeks of minor to major suffering. Me as the experienced caregiver. Hahaha. But between myself, my current partner, and Jack (my dog) we all had some medical concerns that needed to be addressed. I will admit that my partner had the worst of it, with 3+ moderate to severe concerns at once. This did result in an emergency room visit and some learned lessons on properly taking medical advice. But don’t worry after all of this, I am okay. My partner still has an impacted and cracked wisdom tooth and Jack is still geriatric.
After a couple of weeks, it was time to get back to our routine. That consists of going to bed at an appropriate time, going to the gym/getting exercise, scheduling self-care, etc. I found that it made it easier to keep track of my routine by creating tasks to do on the calendar app on my phone. Since I feel like I always have something I can be doing it makes it easier for me to have a specific day/time to do something set aside already. The return of the routine this month has a couple of featured spotlight moments. The most recent hike happened to be more adventurous than intended once again. There were so many good moments. Many waterfalls and waterways throughout the entire hike. We also found some crystals and other interesting-looking rocks throughout the woods. At least the parts that we hiked. Somehow, we wound up off-trail, trying to stay on the trail, and we made it to a perfect sweet spot where going further off-trail and onto the road would be quicker and less aggravating than trucking back through the woods. Also, keep in mind I was also carrying Jack the entire hike on my back in his backpack. We didn’t complete the hike that I wanted, but that’s okay because it’s not about whether a certain path has been followed and completed. It’s about the experience at the end of the day and whether you got what you need out of it or not.
Family. Every family is different. As someone in the human services field, I have to say that most people in the human and health services fields get to witness most types of family dynamics. I am fortunate enough to say that I have a pretty good family behind me, it’s like a village. Some people have the opportunity to say the same or better, but more often people come from more adverse backgrounds and can’t say the same. In the facility that I am currently working at I am working with youth that require 24/7 care with many of them being there because it is unsafe for themselves or others for them to be living at home. Most of the clients in the facility are trauma victims. The facility that I work with has specialized training for trauma-informed care, which is highly beneficial for anyone in a residential program in my opinion. There are so many flaws in the system of human services that it’s sad to say, but trauma is almost an inevitable outcome at this point. I will also say that often the people who are the perpetrators are family members as sad as that is to say. If you know that you have a good family appreciate that, not everyone does. Those who don’t often spend part of their lives searching for a new one. Personally, I’ve been taking advantage of the time that I have with my family that I have close by with occasional family dinners. One of them featured a delicious lasagna that I may have burned the top layer of cheese by accident.
Soon my little household will be getting a little smaller. Jack will soon be taking a long nap. Jack has been in my family for 14 and a half years. At 18 and a half years old Jack is finally beginning to submit to old age. He lived 16 of those years acting as a spry puppy, running laps around everyone and jumping as high as his legs would carry him. In his last year, he acquired stage 4 kidney failure and chronic seizures that have led to further complications. He has been in palliative care maintaining his comfort and happiness. He has lived his last years with happiness and excitement, being able to go on as many road trips and snacks as he could take. He made so many friends and fans on his travels. Jack will be dearly missed by many. But especially by me.
Any financial help for the end-of-life services would be greatly appreciated at this time of grieving. https://gofund.me/9207e4b3
If you have any questions or would like to reach out, feel free to email or DM me on Instagram.