Fractured

Fractured... Fragmented... Divided... Broken.

If you visited me today you would find me healthy, happy and tanner than I was a couple of months ago. Life is Good, there is no question. My family has been extremely fortunate to take the challenges of 2020 and turn them into opportunities.

Mike has worked from home for a year now. Funny how he resisted this change last year. He was determined to keep going into the office as long as possible... which turned out to be approximately 3 days. 😆

What we found over the coming months was that we all really enjoyed him working from home! We get to see each other so much more. We can touch base throughout the day: we eat lunch together and go on more walks. I can even do some errands or appointments more easily now that Mike is more available. Life slowed down even more (and we were already living a very slow paced life compared to most before this!)

But then we decided to cash in even more on this opportunity by moving to Florida. Now we enjoy lunchtime walks almost every day and weekly visits with Grandma and Grandpa. Stresses seem to melt away in the Florida sunshine.

So yes - My Life Is Good.

But life on Planet Earth? It’s very much a mixed bag still. And to pretend that isn’t so would be the greatest hypocrisy and epitome of privilege. My personal world - what an outsider would see if they could observe on a daily basis - is pretty wonderful. But inside I often feel like the Susan pictured above on the left. I took that picture of myself after I cried for hours and hours. It was September 2014 and one of my best friends had suffered a tragic loss - one of her best friends was hit by a bus and instantly died. My friend had already suffered much in her life - traumatic divorce, a parental custody struggle that lasted years and her sister’s suicide all within a short span of time. I couldn’t believe how unfair life is. I wept for her and her pain. I wondered how much one person could bear.

This same friend of mine took her own life 2 months ago, January 22, 2021. She had reached her limit.

So the picture above represents to me how Fractured I feel sometimes. The pain and grief of the world is overwhelming right now - it is such a stark contrast to my daily life. And I am grateful that I am able to experience this contrast because I know not everyone is so lucky. I also know life moves in cycles and pain and grief will one day become personal again. So I strive to stay in the moment and do my best...striving to make myself as whole as possible, because I believe that is the best way I can do my part to heal the world.