We’re nearing the finish line. Whew.

This has been an interesting endeavor – reflection. I don’t want to get into the existential crisis I may be teetering on right now, but, yeah, it’s been interesting, to say the least.

And while it’s been “interesting”, it’s also been more time consuming than I would have thought, and I have so many other things I want to talk/write about. So let’s get to the finish line.

At this point we are well into quarantine. There was no where to go. Nothing to do. The Sis and I took a drive down the Las Vegas Strip one night and it was strange. Like end of times movie strange. The hotels were mostly dark, which rarely happens, and the streets were quiet, empty of people or cars, which never happens.

The world was in limbo.

And I remember feeling sort of lost.

I had quit my job in order to get ready for the move and then we just had to wait. And wait. And wait. After nearly a year, I couldn’t take it anymore, so we got ourselves together and moved to Washington State.

It was one of the most stressful moves we had. I don’t know why, but no matter how prepared I thought we were for the endeavor, it was still a bit of a mess. The stress also triggered the auto-immune disorder our poor little pup would eventually be diagnosed with.

Before I knew this though, we got settled, and I finally felt inspired to write. I was blogging again, and writing (probably fan fiction – don’t judge), and feeling more like myself. That year I posted 34 times, nearly double from the previous year, and there were some lengthy ones in there, and my viewers reached over 3k again (thanks for that!), and then…

One of our dogs started acting strange. I’m ashamed to say we thought he was just acting out, and later discovered it was a precursor, a warning sign. His tiny body started to exhibit all manner of bumps, lesions, and rashes, etc over the course of a handful of weeks. We were constantly at the vet until she was able to diagnose him with a rare disorder called Sterile Panniculitis. This moment in time sucked. He was so sick. His little body so battered.

Some of the meds made him a wee zombie and all I wanted to do was hold him. Babying him is not something I will ever regret doing, but it did often keep both hands occupied. I’m guessing I watched a lot of movies during those months, although I can’t find the list. Once we got his disease under control, we could focus on other things again. I shared helpful tips, inspiring quotes with a bit more detail about how it related to my, then, current state of mind, and some lovely writing prompts. I was feeling productive.

Because of my work schedule, I was able to read, write, and do yoga nearly every day before I went in. I was feeling pretty good. Accomplished. It was somewhere in here that I had this mental shift. I remember it vividly, just not exactly when. Typical. But I had this moment of clarity – I was going to be productive. And I was.

And it continued on into the following year. It’s what led to the big decisions that have led us to where we are now. Life’s funny that way. Strange twists of fate and the like.

I wouldn’t be here, reflecting on all this, without your continued support and encouragement! Thank you for the time you spend with me! It has meant, and continues to mean, a great deal to me!

xx, Rach