Last Day of Summer

September 22nd: I'm having mixed feelings this morning on the last day of summer.....what a whirlwind the last few months have been. The first half of the year was a time of growth and discovery; a season of exciting new possibilities and stepping out of my often-introverted self, followed abruptly by several eye-opening, challenging and painful events.

 

Made it through; although I stumbled I didn't stay down, thanks to words of kindness and love from great people and amazing friends. Struggled to accept loss and heartbreak, railed against grief and saying goodbye, learned more about people and their characteristics than I had ever thought possible. It was indeed, a season of exploration and the need to accept what was, and although I'm coming out of the last several months wiser and more cautious than before, I'm also more tuned into the behavior of others. Maybe I was naive and clueless, or maybe I simply believed in taking people at face value and not always looking for the bad; instead I took what I saw and tried to make things better, without weighing my actions as carefully as maybe I should have. Those are, by many people's opinions, dumb things to do, but I've never been good at seeing the bad side of things. To say this summer turned my world upside down would be an understatement, because with great loss came devastating sadness, and yet I knew that was the price one pays for loving so fiercely, whether it's humans or animals. It was three months of heartbreak and healing; beating myself up for not knowing better; cherishing beautiful memories and amazing moments we shared with some of the most incredible animals I'll probably ever know. It was a season of breaking and healing, struggling to stay upright and falling, soul-shattering loss and finding strength. Grateful for the amazing people I'm so blessed to have in my life, the ones I try to lift up and care about, because they are the ones who didn't let me fall. ✨️💕🫶