Aw… my ‘lil pumpkins back in 2013 🍂🍁
Hey guys! Well, my goodness…when someone takes a break, it sure can concern a lot of people!
Thank you for all the well wishes and worry, but there truly is no need. The texts, the DM’s, the neighborly gestures, the phone calls… all so very sweet but none of you seem to believe me when I or my husband say, ‘WE’RE GREAT! PROMISE!’ 😅
Although I don’t believe it’s necessary to justify or explain one’s personal choices, I have become aware that many of you are convinced I’m now a ghost.
So.
I shared personal reasons for my silence in my instagram birthday post HERE but my family’s perceived absence in the real world seems to now be causing the concern!
So.
I hope using this platform to reach as many of you as I can will ease anyone’s mind from here on out💚.
Dear beautiful people of the real and cyber world,
My family and I are all 100% healthy and happy and well and staying as safe as humanly possible. I promise I’m not keeping anyone locked up or have turned into a hermit / hoarder / any other character needing network TV intervention. We continue to have the proper amount of food, water, and all the essentials one needs and desires in life… and more! (Don’t forget who you’re dealing with here 😉 )
And I somehow managed to purchased 100 toothbrushes from amazon last week.
Plus, one of my neighbors gave me that bag of kiwis out of concern.
So we good.
…
As some of you know, my daughter contracted COVID at the beginning of its introduction to the U.S.
She was as sick as I have ever seen her. For WEEKS. Her fever would spike to 104 every evening and she would break into night sweats every single night. Every day we would think she would be turning a corner, but inevitably the high fever would come back, like clockwork. She was lethargic, weak, had no appetite, and was a vacant shell of herself. Anyone who knows my daughter knows how charismatic she is, and once she stopped being herself for weeks on end, I knew she was suffering from something serious. Doctors in the beginning didn’t know what was wrong with her and would send me away, but a mother knows when her baby is suffering and when to listen to the gut and not the medical degree. She had a terrible, exhausting cough and lung congestion affecting her breathing every hour of every day. It was an almost impossible chore to get fluids in her. After weeks of this, it then turned into the worst upset stomach I have ever witnessed. I would be up all night with her in her bed.
I felt hopeless and it was utterly terrifying holding my small, feeble child going through such terrible trauma and pain. She was defeated and not at all my baby girl.
Now I want to clarify some things before this turns into a PSA.
We are a health conscious family by nature, with the proper amount of germ concern. We always wash our hands after coming home from somewhere (especially school) and before meals, have trained our kids from an early age to not put their fingers in their mouths or drink after their friends… just very basic health precautions to keep everyone healthy.
When she got sick, my daughter had just turned 9, has always been very healthy with a strong immune system, and had no pre-existing conditions.
I have anemia and have always said I could catch your cold from a text, but my symptoms were mild.
My son is 12, has a weakened immune system from being premature and experiencing health complications in the NICU, but was asymptomatic.
My husband is in very good health and also was asymptomatic.
For any of you who may believe this virus cannot touch a child, and is only harmful to those of a certain age with poor health, I hope this helps you to make choices that can keep you, your loved ones, and those around you as safe as possible.
I also hope this explains why we haven’t been coming to your parties.
We happen to be fortunate enough to continue to make our living from the house, and from the minute the world slowed down after my daughter was beginning to feel better, I stopped all my jobs to be their teachers’ assistant at home, as well as team coach ;-).
I fully recognize this is not something a lot of people are able to do. As an empath, I am typing this all with equal parts gratitude and guilt.
I also want to (need to?) explain that my family thoroughly enjoys each other’s company!
Like. We like each other.
So none of this was ever a chore for any of us. My kids have been incredible and know firsthand the severity of this virus, so they have not questioned or complained. They look forward to spending time with their father and me every day. They get to see and speak with their friends whenever possible and show no signs of growing up blindingly dull and smelly. I married my best friend and thank goodness for that. He and I don’t feel trapped or alone or in need of seeking anything else to bring us happiness. We all knew from the beginning what we needed to do, and we did it.
So please don’t let my lack of sharing cause you to think I or we are in a dark place. I never felt the need to announce any of this, as it is my private life and my personal choice to remain respectfully quiet during these times. But so many of you continue to think we’re not well because you don’t see us out, or see more of me online. I so greatly appreciate your emotional involvement in my life, but I do hope this can smooth things out.
We do leave the house! We get plenty of fresh air and exercise, laughter and love. We are all 100% fulfilled. And there is no need for concern💚.
Everyone has their own way of dealing with the things life throws them. When something tries to infiltrate my team, I guess I just hunker down and focus on what’s directly in front of me.
I’m extremely grateful for the family I have, I know there would be no other group of people with whom I could survive this year.
I’m also thankful for the recent knowledge that I’ve raised a daughter who survived :
- a life threatening virus
- a black widow bite
- and a 2nd degree burn
…all in a few month’s time.
She 100% now believes she’s a superhero.
And those of you who really know me know how handsy and smoochy I am, so you can rest assured I’m keeping you safe now, but I look forward to getting my paws on you soon 💋.
I know times are scary right now, but we have to focus on the things we can control in order to maintain a healthy mindset. Let’s not be ignorant and think things are fine out there, let’s do the work to make sure our world is something we want our children to grow up in… but let’s also do what we can to surround ourselves with what brings us joy. That is how we survive this.
So.
Stay smart. Wear a damn mask. And Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Damnit.
(Contact me if you want to help volunteer in our area! We have a lot of work to do and it’s our duty to make sure we get things back on track. Otherwise, we’re legit moving to New Zealand.)
Love to you all. x
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