My Summer So Far

So I've been pretty absent from the blogging world lately. There's a few reasons for that. I've been having a little writers block lately when it comes to blogging, article writing, etc. Usually in the summer I'm more inspired than ever to write, but that hasn't been the case this year. I think mainly because this has been a very different summer for me and my routine has been off.

Since July I've calculated it and I've spent more nights away from home than I have at home and that's a big change. So where have I been? All over the map. I've spent just over two weeks at my best friends house throughout July and August, helping out with some babysitting, which actually has been a blast. It's amazing how differently kids view the world and the more time I spend with them, the more I appreciate the difference. They have such a wide-eyed wonder that we seem to lose when we get older and it's amazing how the world is a much more exciting place from their perspective. It's been a refreshing change to see more of that this summer.

July also brought about a week of holidays from work, so I packed up and went to my aunts cottage to spend my time off there with said friend and child. It was a great week and I felt so refreshed during my time there that it was a major effort to leave and come home. One of the biggest blessings of my time there was it led me on the journey to acceptance which isn't an easy thing to always find.

So what did I need to accept? Well as most of you probably know, I have struggled with health problems quite a bit and while previously I had tried a ton of different things to help, nothing worked. That is until I tried a certain medication last spring. At first the change was incredible. I felt like a new person and for the first time in years I had hope that my struggles were behind me. That feeling lasted for a few weeks, but then the bottom fell out.

Not only was the medication extremely pricey, which put the strain on, but the longer I took it, the worse the side effects that came with it became. Until finally it came to the point where I had to make the choice to stop taking the pills, which was one of the toughest choices I've ever had to make. Because while no one likes side effects I was very much aware that to stop taking the medication was choosing to go back to the way I was and I would have done anything possible to avoid going back there. But back there I went within weeks of stopping the pill and no pun intended, that was a hard pill to swallow. But it was during my holidays that I started the journey towards acceptance and in the weeks following I have found that place of acceptance again. Even though it's not pleasant, I really do trust that God has a reason in all of this and I'm finding my way back to the solid assurance that faith brings especially when life isn't easy.

This month besides celebrating a wedding and doing more babysitting between work, the radio show and other life responsibilities, I also headed off on my one real road trip of the summer. In the past it's been a tradition to always go somewhere in the summer and where in the past my travels have taken me to Southern Ontario, Chicago, and Traverse City, this summer was a different story and circumstances dictated that I was going to be sticking closer to home. So some friends and I took a weekend trip to Sudbury just under two weeks ago. We took in Science North, did a bit of shopping, shot some crazy videos, and enjoyed some pool time at the hotel. It was a fun weekend and while I still have a real burning desire to travel and see the world, I was reminded that you don't always have to go far to have a good time!

So that's what I have been up to lately. So where has summer taken you so far?