And They Lived Happily Never After

Hello all!

First off I want to say thank you so much for being patient with me as I dive back into my writing roots. I have always loved using this platform as a way to escape life stressors. I wanted to make a formal announcement to you guys so you don't feel neglected! There has been quite a bit happening in my life lately that has prevented me from being able to write, so allow me to give you way too much information that you probably do not want!

First, one of my four darling cats has been having problems for the last four months, and finally on March 1st, she had to be hospitalized for four days for emergency surgery to unblock her urethra from bladder stones. She is alive! Currently she is battling a rough UTI, but has been placed on antibiotics for the next 28 days, which we are all hoping helps her to return back to her healthy safe. There was no kidney damage (somehow, very luckily), so once we get this infection kicked out, she should return to being our normal, loving, Pringles (yes, our cat is named after chips, we also have a fur son named Bowie after my hero David Bowie, another fur son named Ludo after my favorite big monster from my favourite movie Labyrinth, and a second fur daughter Shiloh who is Pringles' biological sister). ANYWAY, the illness and emergency surgery brought on life stress to me, Pringles, my fiancé, and our wallets as we had to pull out 2 grand from thin air.

The second stressor has been school. I've mentioned multiple times that I am in my last semester of college before I receive my Bachelors degree, and with the insane amount of attention being spent on the cat, I have been neglecting homework, and with only 6 weeks of the semester left I have to jump into gear to get it all done on time. Slacking this far into my college career isn't the smartest idea.

The third stressor, which isn't a great term for it because that makes it sound like a burden, has been taking care of my dear fiancé. Last Saturday I had to take him into the hospital after his mental health practically deteriorated into oblivion over the course of a few days. He has always battled severe anxiety and depression as I have, but he also battles Borderline Personality Disorder. He is taking a month long medical leave from work, as well as a semester long medical leave from grad school, as he just began working on his Masters degree in January. I believe that working full time at a job he dislikes, attending full time grad courses, stress from his baby Pringles being so sick, as well as financial stress from vet bills piling up had sent his brain into an unfriendly frenzy. He stayed in the emergency room for 24 hours under watch, and upon release told me he wanted to start seeing a therapist because his Prozac no longer works for him. He is also worried about taking a medical work leave for a month because he will not get paid, and with vet bills and our normal monthly bills, it is rather stressful to think about but I know he needs a break from everything to begin recovering as much as he can. To make money he will go back to driving for companies like Lyft and Uber where he can make his own schedule and take it easy both physically and mentally.

The fourth and final stressor is my own brain. I have a wonderful relationship with my fiancé, and even though I have severe anxiety and depression also, I am the more highly functioning of the two of us so I take it upon myself to handle most of our business. This means financially planning our lives month to month, making all of his doctor/psych/gender care appointments, taking care of the home, making sure he eats and drinks plenty of water daily, and a multitude of other things. I have always been a mother figure with all of my loved ones, and I have always put the needs of others before my own. I am my mother's daughter, she is the exact same way. I will never change that, but since I do this often, that also leads to neglecting my own needs often. The next couple of months will be stuffed with things to do such as getting my fiancé into regular therapy, picking up extra work shifts while he takes his medical leave, getting all of the appropriate paper work to our shared university so he can get his medical leave accepted there, trying to finish school myself, making sure our cat keeps her head above water, and so on.

This all being said (sorry it took so long to get here), I am putting this story on HOLD (NOT DELETING, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME) until Saturday May 25, 2019 (the first weekend post graduation and a point at which everything I have mentioned above will be done and taken care of). If you can be patient with me for just two months, I will come back strong and more ready than ever with updates to this story as well as beginning other stories I have been dying to write! If you're new here, please feel free to subscribe and have a seat. I cannot wait for the next two months to fly by so I can dive back into my passion for writing. I hope you stay on this journey with me.

For anyone that needs to read this, I know it's difficult. Life can REALLY suck sometimes, and the world can feel like it is constantly against you, but there is ALWAYS another side that you will make it to on your journey. There is a solution out there for almost any sort of problem. Stay strong, remember to eat something, take a nice hot bath or shower, drink a lot of water, take your meds, paint your nails, do whatever you need to do to take care of yourself and have time for yourself. Remember you're strong. Remember you can get through anything life throws at you. Remember that I love you, and that there are tons of other people who love you. Remember that you're talented, selfless, beautiful, intelligent, and brave. I will see you on the other side of this life stress nonsense. I will miss you guys untilthen.

xxoo,
Leagh

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