Life’s Wake-Up Call – A Season of Grief and Change
This year’s self-care journey deepened through two heartbreaking losses. In February, my dad passed away after years of battling health issues that began with a stroke in 2013. His passing shifted my focus on supporting and housing my mom, while she navigated her "new" normal without him, while also managing her own health challenges. Then, just six months later, we lost my mother-in-law. Those back-to-back losses hit me hard, leaving me emotionally drained and feeling like I had hit rock bottom. In the midst of my grief, I did what I’ve always done: I suppressed my own emotions and needs to care for those around me. I poured my energy into holding space for everyone else’s needs, leaving no room for my own. But through hard conversations with my counselor, I opened my eyes to some hard truths: if I wanted to heal, I needed to start showing up for myself, not just for others. Through this process, I began to understand why I had ignored my own needs for so l...