End Of Summer Round Up

Summer is coming to an end and as if I was a young, cool high schooler I took the summer off writing. Let’s round up my summer of memories and favorites so we can move into the Fall, shall we? At the end of May, I spontaneously moved home to the city of Chicago. I’m not big on change so not only was this out of character but it happened in a whirlwind. We all know the past year and a half has been a nightmare, to say the least, and your girl wanted a change of scenery + some extra loving from her hometown. After attempting hot girl summer I broke rule number one and started falling in love which subsequently took me off the market. Whoops. Soon after, the universe decided to balance out my mood and hit me with my worst nightmare.

When I moved back to Chicago one of my main priorities was spending time with my grandparents who I adore. After many weeks of driving out to the suburbs to see them, I woke up one morning with a missed call from my grandma. I figured she was letting me know what time to drive out and to my horror, she informed me they were actually at the hospital. This launched my month-long visitors pass to the hospital. I spent nearly every day driving back and forth, almost an hour each way, driving to be with my family at every twist and turn. I’ll spare you the medical details and after a couple of weeks, we entered the hospice process. It feels like a lifetime was spent at that hospital but of course, there’s nowhere else I was capable of being. My grandpa was the rock of our family and we all rallied around him and my grandma. Literally, all fifteen of us were at the hospital for weeks knowing only two visitors were allowed at the time. Let’s just say we caused quite the scene and a little drama here and there thanks to our big personalities.

Card games, domino’s, books, jokes, tears, prayer, that was my summer. I’ve never dealt with loss before and am still figuring out the stages of grief. My grandpa was a hero to every one of his grandkids. He was our Baaka, our D Man, our Cutie. We have a knack for knick names and no I’m not telling you mine. To me, he was my father figure growing up since I didn’t have one but I didn’t need one because I had a Baaka. He’s the man that was going to walk me down the aisle and tell me I picked a good one. He may not be walking me down the aisle but I know I won’t be walking down one unless there’s a man that loves me even half as much he loved my grandma. She was truly the love of his life since first grade and they showed us what a lifetime of true partnership looked like. They gave us the most incredible family and there’s no one else I would’ve rather spent my summer with.

Now as I sit in my Chicago apartment after spending many months full of uncertainty as to what my future would look like, I feel slightly at peace. I feel incredibly blessed for the people in my life who have rallied around me this summer. I feel blessed that I turned my life over to God long ago now, and He’s taken care of guiding me through every up and down. I used to always think when my grandpa passed one day, I simply wouldn’t be able to carry on. I say this because it’s a testament to how strong you are capable of becoming when you focus on your own self-growth. I probably wouldn’t have been able to carry on if this happened a few years ago honestly. But I’ve been putting one foot in front of the other finding best moods within every worst mood.

I don’t have many products I’ve been loving because my summer has been abnormal. But if there’s anything I’ve learned it’s that mood boosters big and small get you through and keep you sane. The little things add up whether it’s taking the time to do a face mask and night routine or diving into a passion project that means something special to you. I’ve done all of it and got through to the other side. I say all of this to emphasize you can do it too. It’s not easy, but it’s simple, one foot in front of the other and boost your mood baby.