Why am I writing a blog? Because I have a lot of feelings that I need to get out. I’ve had a rough few years, and starting here and now, I need to get my head on straight.

In 2017, I was in the best shape of my life. I ate well and exercised. Then my Dad was diagnosed with ALS and I became a caregiver. It was like giving all the care I had been giving myself and just handing it over to someone else. As much as I tried to keep up with my healthy eating and exercising, I just couldn’t make it work. My time at the gym was replaced with getting my Dad in and out of bed, doctor’s appointments and errands and just being there. Eating healthy was replaced with comfort and fast foods (and lots of it). I was so stressed with taking care of my Dad and work, too, I lost myself and you know what happened? I gained a lot of weight, more than fifty pounds. And there wasn’t anything I did about it. My Dad passed away in 2019. By the time I got myself psyched about being able to take care of myself again, my sister passed away, then my stepmom needed to be taken care of. When my stepmom passed away in 2021, my Mom was battling brain and lung cancer. She just passed a few months ago at Thanksgiving.

I’ve been lost for the last 4 years and it’s time to find myself again. I’m now a work-in-progress and while I know things are never going to be like they were before, I hope that I can reach a place where I am happy again.