July was a bitch

Dear friends,

I haven't written a new blog post in over a month (you may have noticed). And I'll tell you why. July was a bitch. And June sucked, too.

June was trauma-heavy (dad nearly dying from a stroke, me plunging 6,000 feet in an airplane, etc.). July was basically used to recover from June. July was also when I stopped enjoying my new freelance lifestyle because I realized that the money was drying-up faster than it was coming in. I was worrying about money, I was worrying about my family, and I was just basically worrying all the time. So July was a bitch.

But July forced me to deal with the residual stresses of June. I saw a therapist and went to a couple of group therapy sessions on how to deal and cope with anxiety. I started exercising more regularly (to relieve the anxiety). I started to cut out wheat and sugar (to relieve the anxiety). And I finally started meditating again (to relieve the anxiety). Meditation had once been a vital part of my life and well-being. And even though it took some trauma to get back into it, I'm happy that meditation is a part of my life again.

However, July wasn't all bad. In fact, July had some wonderful experiences that I hope blog about very shortly.

Eric took me to Bath, West Virginia, for a relaxing and romantic three-day weekend.

Then I was given the opportunity to write theatre reviews for the 2014 Capital Fringe Festival!

And I haven't even mentioned the life-affirming Dumpling Tour that we went on last Saturday!

I quickly mention these experiences to highlight how awesome July actually was (ok, I admit, the Dumpling Tour was August 2nd, but close enough to July). Mentally, I was dealing with some stress and anxiety, but I am proud of myself for dealing with it. I faced it head-on.

And life kept going. And the more I think about it, life was pretty fantastic. I mean, my dad didn't die of a stroke (he's doing great by the way, we even had our first phone conversation since the stroke a few days ago), and I didn't die in an airplane crash. I am healthy, I am not homeless, and I am still somehow managing to pay my bills (even though I haven't had a full-time job since April!). I have my family, I have my friends, and I have a lovely partner who looks out for me.

So I guess July wasn't so bad after all.

Keep looking on the bright side!

-Leila

P.S. www.shwebisodes.com